National  Education  Association 

Report  of  the  committee  on 
taxation  as  related  to  public 
education  to  the  National  Coun 
ell  of  Education  July,  1905 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 


ON 


axation  as  Related  to  Public 
Education 


July,  1905 


Price  List  of 

Reports  of  Special  Committees 
for  1905 

Price 

Postpaid 

Salaries,  .Tenure,  and  Pensions,  pp.  466,  paper  cover  .     .       $0.50 
Taxation  as  Related  to  Public  Education,  pp.  97,  paper  cover      .10 

Industrial  Education  in    Schools    for    Rural    Communities, 

pp.  87,  paper  cover 10 


A  discount  of  2O°J0  if  allowed  on  orders  of  10  copies 
or  more  to  one  address. 


Address  IRWIN  SHEPARD, 

Secretary  N,  E.  A., 

WlNONTA,  MlNN. 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


Report  of  the  Committee 


Taxation  as  Related  to  Public 
Education 


National  Council  of  Education 

July,  1905 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  ASSOCIATION 
1905 


COPYRIGHT,  1905 
THE  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

HISTORICAL  STATEMENT 5 

SECRETARY'S  MINUTES 7 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE — Greenwood 10 

A.  Apportionment  of  Money  for  Maintenance 10 

Table      I.   School  expenditures  classified  by  groups  of  cities  based  on 

population 14 

Table    II.   Expenditures  for  instruction  and  supervision  in  1902-3. .....  18 

Table  III.   Relation  of  school  expenditures  to  municipal  expenditures.  . .  18 

Table   IV.    School  expenditures  classified  by  geographical  divisions 20 

B.  Observations  on  Tables  I.  and  II 21 

C.  The  Administration  of  School  Affairs 25 

D.  Summary 29 

METHODS  OF  TAXATION  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY — Maxwell 31 

TAXATION  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES — Schaeffer 37 

A  COMPARATIVE  STATISTICAL  STUDY  OF  SCHOOL  MAINTENANCE  IN  THE  SOUTH — 

Mclver,  Coon 45 

Part      I.    Financial  ability  to  levy  school  taxes 45 

Part    II.    School  taxation  laws  and  funds  raised  for  schools 50 

Part  III.   Twenty  years'  progress  in  decreasing  illiteracy 58 

Part   IV.   Twenty-five  years  of  general  educational  progress 63 

Part     V.   Statistics  relating  to  education,  1850-1860 65 

TAXATION  FOR  STATE  PURPOSES  IN  PENNSYLVANIA — Schaeffer 69 

Sources  of  revenue  with  table 70 

Tax  legislation  in  Pennsylvania 72 

METHOD  OF  TAXATION  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES  IN  INDIANA — Carr 75 

TABLE    V. — SHOWING  RELATION  OF  COST  OF  SCHOOLS  TO  MUNICIPAL  EXPENDI- 
TURES, ETC 80 

TABLE  VI. — SHOWING  RELATION  OF  COST  OF  EACH  MUNICIPAL  DEPARTMENT 

TO  EACH  DOLLAR  FOR  SCHOOLS.  . ,  84 


To  the  National  Council  of  Education: 

The  undersigned  Committee  on  Taxation  as  Related  to  Public  Education,  appointed 
at  the  meeting  of  the  National  Council  of  Education  in  Minneapolis,  July  8,  1902,  submit 
herewith  the  following  report  on  the  subject  assigned  for  its  investigation : 

JAMES  M.  GREENWOOD,  Chairman; 

AARON  GOVE; 

W.  T.  HARRIS; 

JOHN  W.  CARR; 

NEWTON  C.  DOUGHERTY; 

NATHAN  C.  SCHAEFFER; 

WILLIAM  H.  MAXWELL; 

CARROLL  G.  PEARSE; 

CHARLES  D.  MC!VER; 

FRANK  A.  FITZPATRICK; 

Committee. 

HISTORICAL  STATEMENT 

At  the  Minneapolis  meeting  of  the  National  Educational  Association, 
held  in  July,  1902,  in  the  National  Council  on  Monday,  July  7,  two  papers 
were  submitted: — "Taxation  for  School  Purposes,"  by  Nathan  C,  Schaeffer, 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  of  Pennsylvania,  and — "Taxation  and 
Teachers'  Salaries,"  by  Albert  G.  Lane,  district  superintendent  of  schools, 
Chicago,  111.  Both  papers  were  fully  discussed  and  the  opinion  expressed 
that  taxation  as  related  to  education  should  be  made  the  subject  of  special 
investigation. 

At  the  forenoon  session  of  the  Council,  Tuesday,  July  8,  J.  W.  Carr,  of 
Indiana,  offered  the  following  resolution,  which  was  seconded  by  J.  M. 
Greenwood: 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  taxation  as  it  relates  to  public  education,  and  in  order 
that  a  more  comprehensive  report  be  made  on  this  subject  than  it  is  possible  to  obtain 
otherwise : 

Resolved,  (i)  That  a  committee  of  nine  be  appointed  by  this  body  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  investigate  the  subject  of  taxation  as  it  relates  to  public  education,  and  to  make 
a  printed  report  to  the  National  Council  of  Education,  and  not  later  than  the  year  1904, 
unless  otherwise  directed  by  this  body. 

(2)  That  the  membership  of  this  committee  shall  be  composed  as  follows:  The 
Commissioner  of  Education  of  the  United  States,  and  at  least  one  state  superintendent, 
one  superintendent  of  a  large  city,  one  superintendent  of  a  small  city  or  town,  one  rep- 
resentative of  rural  schools;  the  remainder  of  the  committee  to  be  chosen  for  their 
special  fitness  for  such  work  without  regard  to  the  interests  they  may  represent. 

5 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


The  resolution  was  then  referred  to  the  standing  Committee  on  Investi- 
,ations  and  Appropriations  of  the  council   for  recommendation. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  of  the  council  on  Wednesday,  July  9,  J.  M. 
Greenwood  presented  a  report  in  substance  as  follows: 

The  Committee  on  Investigations  and  Appropriations  has  considered  the  resolutions 
on  "Taxation  as  Related  to  Public  Education,"  introduced  by  J.  W.  Carr,  and  recom- 
mends that  the  council  request  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  National  Educational  Asso- 
ciation to  appropriate  the  sum  of  $1,000  oo,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary  to 
defray  the  clerical  and  such  other  expenses  as  may  be  incurred  in  the  preparation  of  a 
report,  as  contemplated  in  the  resolutions. 

W.  T.  Harris  then  moved  that  Mr.  Greenwood,  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Investigations  and  Appropriations,  present  the  report  of  the  commit- 
tee to  the  Board  of  Directors.  Carried. 

It  was  moved  and  carried  that  the  president  of  the  council,  Joseph  Swain, 
submit  a  tentative  list  to  constitute  the  committee  to  investigate  the  question 
of  Taxation  as  Related  to  Public  Education,  and  to  make  a  report  of  its 
conclusions  at  some  future  meeting  of  the  council,  as  provided  for  in  the 
resolutions  on  this  subject  already  adopted. 

President  Swain  first  submitted  to  the  Council  a  tentative  list  of  a  com- 
mittee of  nine,  with  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  of  New  York,  as  chairman. 
Later,  Dr.  Butler  explained  his  inability  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee, and  asked  that  the  Council  accept  his  resignation  and  appoint  Super- 
intendent J.  M.  Greenwood  as  chairman  in  his  place.  This  the  Council 
agreed  to.  The  committee,  to  be  known  as  the  Committee  on  Taxation  as 
Related  to  Public  Education,  was  then  increased  to  ten  members,  as  follows: 

J.  M.  Greenwood,  of  Missouri,  chairman. 

Aaron  Gove,  of  Colorado.  N.  C.  Schaeffer,  of  Pennsylvania. 

W.  T.  Harris,  U.  S.  Com.  of  Education.  W.  H.  Maxwell,  of  New  York. 
J.  W.  Carr,  of  Indiana.  C.  G.  Pearse,  of  Nebraska. 

N.  C.  Dougherty,  .of  Illinois.  Charles  D.  Mclver,  of  North  Carolina. 

Frank  A.  Fitzpatrick,  of  Massachusetts. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  July  10,  1902,  Director  James 
M.  Greenwood,  of  Missouri,  chairman  of  the  Special  Committee  on  Investi- 
gations and  Appropriations  of  the  National  Council,  reported  that  action 
had  been  taken  by  the  council  creating  a  special  committee  of  ten  on  the 
subject  of  "Taxation  as  Related  to  Public  Education,"  to  report  to  the  council 
not  later  than  1904,  unless  otherwise  directed  by  that  body;  and  that  the 
council  recommend  that  the  sum  of  $1,000.00,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may 
be  necessary,  be  appropriated  for  clerical  and  other  expenses  of  the  committee 
in  the  preparation  of  the  proposed  report. 

An  informal  discussion  followed  as  to  the  desirability  of  such  an  investi- 
gation and  of  the  ground  to  be  covered  by  the  proposed  report. 

On  motion,  the  recommendation  of  the  council  was  concurred  in  and 
the  sum  of  $1,000.00  was  appropriated  for  the  expenses  of  the  committee. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  COMMITTEE' 

Shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  the  council  in  1902,  a  circular  letter 
was  addressed  to  each  member  of  the  committee  by  the  chairman,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  suggestions  on  the  scope  and  character  of  the  information 
that  should  be  embodied  in  a  Report  on  Taxation  for  School  Purposes. 

Prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  committee  held  in  Chicago,  April  14,  1904, 
the  work  had  been  carried  on  chiefly  by  correspondence  along  lines  that 
had  been  outlined  by  different  members  of  the  committee,  and  this  conference 
was  called  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  and  revising  the  results,  and  of 
extending  inquiries  into  other  phases  of  the  subject  by  assigning  definite 
areas  to  subcommittees  for  more  careful  scrutiny  and  elaboration. 


MINUTES  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  AS 
RELATED   TO  PUBLIC  EDUCATION 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  April  14,  1904. 

The  Committee  met  at  the  Auditorium  hotel  at  10:30  A.  M.,  Thursday,  April  14, 
1904.  Present,  Messrs.  Greenwood,  chairman;  Schaeffer,  Pearse,  Dougherty,  Gove, 
Fitzpatrick,  and  Carr. 

J.  W.  Carr  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  committee. 

Tentative  reports  were  submitted  on  different  parts  of  the  proposed  report  as  follows: — 

1.  History  of  school  taxation.     Superintendent  N.  C.  Schaeffer. 

2.  Apportionment  of  money  for  the  maintenance  and  operation  of  city  school  systems 
for  specific  purposes  expressed  in  per  cents,  of  the  total  expenditures.     Superintendent 
J.  M.  Greenwood. 

3.  Table  showing  the  amounts  spent  for  maintenance  and  operation  of  various 
city  departments  for  every  dollar  spent  for  maintenance  and  operation  of  schools.     Dr. 
W.  T.  Harris. 

4.  Method  of  school  taxation  in  New  York  city.     Superintendent  W.  H.  Maxwell. 

5.  School  taxes  by  sections  of  the  country,  etc.     Superintendent  J.  W.  Carr. 

6.  Basis  for  levying  school  taxes.     Superintendent  Aaron  Gove. 

On  motion  the  chairman  appointed  a  committee  of  three — Messrs.  Fitzpatrick, 
Schaeffer,  and  Carr — to  define  plan  for  the  forthcoming  report. 

The  committee  recommended  that  the  scheme  submkted  by  Superintendent  Carr 
be  adopted  as  the  plan  of  the  general  report,  together  with  report  on  school  expenditures 
submitted  by  Superintendent  Greenwood,  and  statistics  submitted  by  Dr.  Harris  and 
other  members  of  the  committee.  The  recommendation  of  the  special  committee  was 
adopted. 

PLAN    FOR   REPORT    ON   COMMITTEE    ON   TAXATION    AS   RELATED    TO   PUBLIC    EDUCATION 

I.    Brief  history  of  school  taxation  in  the  United  States. 

If  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  brief  history  for  the  entire  country,  certain  typical 
states  could  be  chosen  which  would  give  some  idea  of  taxation  for  school  purposes  in 
the  whole  country. 

II.   Different  modes  of  taxation  for  school  purposes. 

1.  The  state  system. 

2.  Local  system  of  taxation. 

3.  Combination  of  state  and  local  systems  of  taxation. 

4.  Money  for  school  purposes  derived  from  school  lands,  school  funds  and 

other    means    of    taxation. 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


III.  Different  taxing  bodies. 

1.  State  legislature. 

2.  City  councils. 

3.  Town  meetings. 

4.  School  boards. 

Merits  of  each  method  of  levying  taxes. 

IV.  Different  purposes  for  which  school  taxes  are  collected. 

1.  Elementary   schools. 

2.  High  schools. 

3.  Kindergartens. 

4.  Manual-training  schools. 

5.  Night    schools. 

6.  Schools  for  defectives,  such  as  blind,  deaf,  feeble  minded,  etc. 

7.  Colleges   and   universities. 

8.  Part  of  tax  that  goes  to  teachers. 

9.  Part  for  buildings,  supplies,  equipments,  school  officers. 

V.   School  taxes  by  sections  of  the  country  compared  with  other  nations. 
VI.   Comparison  of  school  taxes  with  taxes  levied  for  other  purposes. 

This  comparison  should  be  somewhat  elaborate.  If  there  has  been  any 
diminution  of  amount  expended  for  courts,  prisons,  almshouses,  etc., 
these  facts  should  be  brought  out. 

VII.   Suggestions  for  increasing  school  revenues  where  increase  is  needed. 
VIII.   Most  economical  way  of  administering  schools  so  as  not  to  impair  their  effi- 
ciency.    This  is  one  of  the  most  important  divisions  of  the  subject, 
and  should  be  most  carefully  written. 
IX.  What  returns  do  the  people  receive  for  their  great  expenditure  for  schools  ? 

1.  Economic  returns. 

2.  Industrial  returns. 

3.  Increase  in  military  power,  etc. 

This  part  of  the  report  should  be  carefully  worked  out  so  as  to  show  the 

returns  in  the  best  way  possible. 
Subcommittees  were  appointed  to  prepare  special  parts  of  reports  as  follows: 

1.  On  statistics  already  collected  and  to  be  collected  including  expenditures — 

Messrs.   Greenwood,   Fitzpatrick,  and  Gove. 

2.  History  of  taxation,  etc.     Items  I-IV,  general  scheme — Messrs.  Schaeffer, 

Harris,    and   Pearse. 

3.  School  taxes  by  sections  of  the  country,  etc.    Items  V-VII,  general  scheme — 

Messrs.   Carr,  Mclver,  and  Dougherty. 

4.  Topics  VIII  and  IX,  general  scheme — Messrs.   Gove,   Dougherty  and 

Carr. 

It  was  ordered  to  refer  sections  I  and  II  of  Superintendent  Gove's  memorandum — 
(i)  Operation,  (2)  Maintenance  of  schools — to  Committee  on  Statistics. 

It  was  also  ordered  that  the  chairman  collect  information  on  items  III  and  IV 
of  Superintendent  Gove's  memorandum — (3)  Extension,  (4)  Bonded  debt  and  interest — 
and  when  collected,  that  the  facts  be  referred  to  Committee  on  Statistics. 

After  considerable  informal  discussion  Thursday  forenoon  and  afternoon  and  Friday 
forenoon,  the  committee  adjourned.  Before  adjourning  it  was  agreed  that  the  committee 
meet  again  at  St.  Louis  at  the  time  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Educational 
Association  in  July,  1904.  J.  W.  CARR,  Secretary. 

Owing  to  a  press  of  other  matters,  and  the  difficulty  experienced  in  getting  a  quorum 
at  St.  Louis,  no  meeting  was  held  in  St.  Louis.  Later,  the  Chairman  called  the  committee 
to  meet  at  Chicago,  December  5,  1904. 

J.  W.  CARJR,  Secretary. 


CHICAGO,  ILL.,  December  5,  1904. 

Committee  met  in  the  parlors  of  the  Auditorium  Annex,  Monday  morning,  Dec. 
5,  1904.  Present;  Messrs.  Schaeffer,  Pearse,  Fitzpatrick,  Mclver  Gove,  Dougherty, 
and  Carr. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


In  the  absence  of  Mr.  Greenwood,  Dr.  Schaeffer  was  chosen  chairman  pro  tempore. 

Communications  were  read  stating  that  Mr.  Greenwood  was  detained  at  home  on 
account  of  illness  and  that  Dr.  Harris  was  compelled  to  go  to  New  York  on  account  of 
important  official  business.  Each  sent  material  for  the  use  of  the  committee. 

Chairman  Greenwood  was  selected  to  edit  the  report.  Messrs.  Fitzpatrick  and 
Gove  were  appointed  to  assist  Mr.  Greenwood  in  this  work. 

A  letter  from  Dr.  Harris  was  read  to  the  committee  and  referred  to  the  chairman. 

The  history  of  school  taxation  was  read  by  Dr.  Schaeffer,  discussed  by  the  committee 
and  then  referred  to  the  chairman  to  be  incorporated  in  the  report. 

Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and  Dr.  Schaeffer  were  appointed  to  write  an  addenda  in  reference  to 
taxation  by  indirect  sources,  such  as  liquor  licenses,  etc. 

Dr.  Mclver  was  instructed  to  write  in  reference  to  school  taxation  in  the  southern 
states  and  Mr.  Carr  in  reference  to  the  history  of  school  taxation  in  Indiana. 

A  subcommittee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Fitzpatrick,  Pearse  and  Carr  was  appointed 
to  compile  some  statistics  relative  to  cost  of  textbooks  and  supplies. 

Mr.  Gove  was  appointed  to  write  sections  VII  and  VIII  according  to  the  original 
scheme  which  was  to  be  signed  by  Messrs.  Dougherty  and  Carr. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  it  was  ordered  that  in  case  the  proportional  amount 
of  any  item  of  expense  in  any  city  appears  to  be  much  above  or  below  the  average  in  other 
cities,  that  the  chairman  write  to  the  superintendent  of  that  city,  calling  his  attention  to 
that  fact  and  inquiring  whether  or  not  he  desired  to  make  any  written  statement  or  explan- 
ation and  in  case  any  such  statement  or  explanation  is  made,  the  same  should  be  pub- 
lished as  a  footnote  or  an  addenda  to  the  report. 

Adjourned. 

J.  W.  CARR,  Secretary. 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  February  24,  1905. 

The  special  committee  on  formulating  the  report,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Greenwood, 
Gove,  and  Fitzpatrick,  met  in  Chicago,  February  24,  1905,  and  during  the  24th  and  25th 
the  material  collected  was  arranged  and  classified  preparatory  to  the  final  session  to  be 
held  in  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  February  27,  1905. 


MILWAUKEE,  Wis.,  February  27,  1905. 

The  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  Taxation  as  Related  to  Public  Education  was 
called  to  order  at  4  P.  M.  at  the  Plankinton  House.  Members  present;  W.  T.  Harris, 
Aaron  Gove,  J.  W.  Carr,  W.  H.  Maxwell,  N.  C.  Dougherty,  C.  G.  Pearse,  and  J.  M. 
Greenwood. 

The  session  was  devoted  to  reading  portions  of  the  report. 

On  motion  of  Commissioner  Harris,  adjournment  was  taken  to  4  P.  M.,  February  28. 


MILWAUKEE,  Wis.,  February  28,  1905. 

The  adjourned  meeting  of  the  committee  was  called  to  order  at  4 : 20  p.  M.  Members 
present;  Messrs.  Fitzpatrick,  Harris,  Dougherty,  Gove,  and  Greenwood. 

Additional  papers  were  read,  after  which  it  was  moved  by  N.  C.  Dougherty  that  the 
report  be  printed  so  that  a  sufficient  number  of  copies  should  be  ready  for  distribution  at 
least  one  month  before  the  meeting  of  the  National  Council  in  July.  Seconded  by  Com- 
missioner Harris.  Motion  carried. 

Ordered  that  each  member  be  furnished  with  advance  proof  sheets,to  be  returned 
promptly  to  the  chairman  after  reading. 

Adjourned. 

J.  W.  CARR,  Secretary, 


10  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE 

JAMES    M.    GREENWOOD,    SUPERINTENDENT    OF    SCHOOLS,    KANSAS    CITY,    MO., 

CHAIRMAN 

A.  APPORTIONMENT  OF  MONEY  FOR  THE  MAINTENANCE  AND 
OPERATION  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS  FOR  SPECIFIC  PURPOSES, 
EXPRESSED  IN  THE  PER  CENTS.  OF  THE  TOTAL  EXPENDITURES. 

This  section  of  the  report  is  intended  to  show  how  the  expenditures  for 
the  maintenance  and  operation  of  schools  in  the  leading  cities  in  the  United 
States  are  apportioned  among  the  special  departments  embraced  in  the  classifi- 
cation adopted.  In  view  of  the  general  policy  which  now  prevails  in  many 
cities  of  piling  up  indebtedness  by  the  present  generation  for  the  next  genera- 
tion to  grapple  with,  it  was  deemed  eminently  proper  that  one  part  of  the 
report  should  treat  exclusively  of  the  division  and  appropriation  of  school 
moneys  collected  by  a  city  each  year,  and  to  determine,  approximately,  an 
equation  showing  what  part  of  the  total  expenditure  each  item  is  of  the  operat- 
ing expenses  expressed  by  a  per  cent,  of  the  total.  This  method  of  pres- 
entation is  very  simple,  and  at  the  same  time  most  comprehensive  in  exhibiting 
the  expenditures  freed  from  obscurity.  It  is  also  believed  that  if  the  outline 
of  the  expenditures  herein  followed  should  come  into  general  use  in  all  the 
leading  cities,  such  a  method  of  expressing  expenditures  for  comparative 
purposes  would  be  a  great  improvement  over  the  confusing  systems  generally 
employed  throughout  the  Union.  For  the  purpose  of  gathering  definite 
information  bearing  directly  on  this  topic,  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
sent  out  the  following  circular  letter  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  city  superintend- 
ents of  the  leading  cities  of  this  country. 

In  asking  for  and  soliciting  information,  three  objects  were  kept  in  view: 

(a)  What  should  be  collected; 

(6)  How  the  material  should  be  arranged  after  it  was  collected. 

(c)  What  conclusions,  if  any,  could  be  inferred  from  the  results  obtained. 

LETTER  OF   INQUIRY 

KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  October  13,  1903. 

DEAR  SIR:  As  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Taxation  as  Related  to  Public  Educa- 
tion, a  report  of  which  is  to  be  presented  to  the  National  Council  of  Education  in  July, 
1904,  will  you  please  furnish  the  following  items  concerning  your  city  schools  for  the 
school  year  of  1902-1903: 

1.  Teacher's  salaries: 

(a)  Amount  paid  for  high  schools. 
(6)    For   elementary   schools. 

2.  Supervision,  and  under  supervision  include  the  salaries  of  all  principals  who 
supervise,  special  teachers,  superintendents  and  assistant  superintendents. 

3.  Ajnount  paid  for  janitor  service. 

4.  Amount  paid  for  ordinary  repairs. 

5.  Amount  paid  for  fuel. 

6.  Amount  paid  for  textbooks. 

7.  Amount  paid  for  school  supplies,  reference  books,  apparatus. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  II 

8.  Miscellaneous  expense,  which  should  include  other  officers'  salaries,  cost  of  taking 
census,  postage,  telephone,  and  all  other  expenditures  chargeable  to  running  expense, 
not  included  under  the  above  heads. 

Yours  truly,  J.  M.  GREENWOOD,  Chairman. 

Replies  were  received  from  eighty-three  cities,  a  complete  list  of  which 
is  given  further  on. 

The  cities  from  which  reports  were  received,  are  classified  on  the  basis 
of  population  according  to  the  census  of  190x5  into  seven  groups: 

First  group:    Cities  having  a  population  of  more  than   1,000,000. 
Second  group:  cities  having  a  population  of  500,000  to  1,000,000. 
Third  group:  cities  having  a  population  of  200,000  to  500,000. 
Fourth  group:   cities  having  a  population  of  100,000  to  200,000. 
Fifth  group:    cities  having  a  population  of  50,000  to  100,000. 
Sixth  group:    cities  having  a  population  of  20,000  to  50,000. 
Seventh  group:    cities  having  a  population  of  10,000  to  20,000. 

In  computing  the  percentages,  the  total  expenditure  for  maintenance 
and  operation  was  obtained  from  the  replies  furnished  at  first  by  each  super- 
intendent or  his  clerk,  the  separate  items  were  then  computed,  and  the  results 
were  then  returned  to  each  superintendent  with  a  request  that  he  verify  the 
estimates  and  return  his  corrections.  This  has  been  done  in  nearly  all  cases 
unless  otherwise  mentioned.  When  an  item  was  found  that  appeared  to 
be  unusually  large,  more  definite  information  was  sought  and  has  been  most 
cheerfully  supplied. 

To  have  given  the  expenditure  of  each  city  in  dollars  would  convey  no 
definite  information  for  comparative  purposes  without  going  into  the  cash 
or  real  valuation  of  the  real  and  personal  property  as  compared  with  the 
assessed  valuation  of  the  same,  and  the  tax-paying  power  of  the  property 
holders;  but  to  show  what  per  cent,  of  the  total  amount  expended  each  item 
is,  would  furnish  a  guide  for  boards  of  education  and  superintendents  by 
giving  approximate  equational  values  for  each  item,  and  thus  avoid  exorbitant 
outlays  in  one  department  at  the  expense  of  other  departments.  The  table 
of  expenditures  is  designed  to  furnish  a  corrective  for  all  such  exceptional 
cases  and  to  reduce  and  systematize  expenditures  to  a  safe  business  basis. 
As  an  illustration,  the  three  items,  salaries  paid  high-school  teachers,  ele- 
mentary-school teachers,  and  for  supervision  in  the  cities  named  run  as  follows: 

Chicago,  78.3  per  cent,  of  the  total  operating  expenses;  Philadelphia,  73.6  per 
cent.;  St.  Louis,  74.8  per  cent.;  Boston,  72.99  per  cent.;  Baltimore,  77.1  percent. 

Comparing  the  three  items  separately: 

Chicago:  7.4  per  cent.,  high  school;  61.1  per  cent.,  elementary  teachers;  9.8  per 
cent.,  supervision. 

Philadelphia:  9.9  per  cent.,  high  school;  56.02  per  cent.,  elementary  teachers; 
7.7  per  cent.,  supervision. 

St.  Louis:  6.6  per  cent.,  high  school;  55.7  per  cent.,  elementary  teachers;  12.5  per 
cent.,  supervision. 

Boston:  12.57  per  cent.,  high  school;  52.32  per  cent.,  elementary  teachers;  8.07 
per  cent.,  supervision. 


Baltimore:  9  per  cent.,  high  school;    62.5  per  cent.,  elementary  teachers;    5.6  per 
cent.,  supervision. 

A  comparison  of  these  separate  items  from  these  five  large  cities  raises 
several  questions  in  regard  to  the  per  cent,  of  high-school  teachers'  salaries, 
elementary  teachers'  salaries,  and  for  supervision.  Custom  and  local  condi- 
tions will  probably  furnish  a  satisfactory  explanation  in  each  case,  each 
system  being  a  growth  out  of  previous  practice. 

A  careful  comparison  of  groups  of  cities  will  reveal  many  anomalies, 
not  only  in  each  group,  but  in  comparing  one  group  with  another,  and  yet 
the  percentage  appropriated  for  instruction  and  supervision  runs  very  nearly 
parallel  throughout  the  groups  of  cities,  according  to  population.  This 
was  hardly  to  be  expected  when  each  school  board  works  at  these  questions 
in  its  own  way,  seldom  or  never  consulting  other  boards  as  to  the  division 
of  appropriations.  By  practice  nearly  all  systems  of  schools  have  approxi- 
mated a  safe  working  basis.  The  per  cent,  paid  to  high- school  teachers,  is: 

First  group 8.8      Third  group 9.0      Sixth  group 11.3 

Second  group 9.7       Fourth  group 10.8      Seventh  group 14.3 

Fifth  group 9.8 

The  inference  is  that  pupils  in  the  smaller  cities  are  going  to  high  school 
from  the  rural  and  suburban  population  in  greater  numbers  proportionately 
than  in  the  larger  cities.  The  percentage  appropriated  for  teachers'  salaries 
in  the  elementary  schools  in  cities  of  200,000  inhabitants  and  upward,  is 
nearly  a  constant.  Total  paid  elementary  teachers: 

First  group 58.5       Third  group 55.5       Sixth  group 52. 

Second  group 56.8       Fourth  group 52-3       Seventh  group 46.49 

Fifth  group 54. 

Supervision    costs   in    each    respectively: 

First  group 8.7        Third  group 9.9        Sixth  group 10.6 

Second  group 9.1         Fourth  group 9.9        Seventh  group 9.6 

Fifth  group 11.4 

Putting  the  three  items,  high-school  salaries,  elementary-school  salaries, 
and  supervision,  under  the  head  of  instruction,  the  percentage  of  cost  in 
each  group  of  cities,  is  as  follows: 

First  group 76.  Third  group 74-4        Sixth  group 73.9 

Second  group 74.9         Fourth  group 73.  Seventh  group.... 70.39 

Fifth  group 75  • 2 

There  is  little  fluctuation  in  janitor  service  taking  the  cities  in  groups 
as  in  the  previous  cases.  Service  costs: 

First  group 7.5        Third  group 6.8        Sixth  group 6.1 

Second  group 6.4        Fourth  group 6.7         Seventh  group 7.37 

Fifth  group 6.5 

In  the  department  of  repairs  there  seems  to  be  no  determining  factor, 
judging  from  the  outlay  of  each  individual  city,  but  by  groups  the  mean 
averages  are  not  so  very  divergent.  The  percentages  are: 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  13 

First  group 5.6         Third  group 4.8         Sixth  group 3.9 

Second  group 5.5         Fourth  group 3.9         Seventh  group 3 . 

Fifth  group 4.1 

The  item  of  fuel  varies  from  almost  nothing  in  the  extreme  South  and 
in  parts  of  California,  to  n  per  cent,  at  Rutland,  Vt.  The  mean  average 
cost  in  Chicago  and  Philadelphia  is  3.2  per  cent»  of  the  total  expenditure. 
In  the  cities  of  the  second  group,  4 .  i  per  cent. ;  third  group,  3 . 5  per  cent. ; 
sixth  group,  3.8  per  cent.;  seventh  group,  6.3  per  cent.  The  rate  is  10  per 
cent,  at  Madison  and  Burlington,  and  at  Lansing  8  per  cent,  of  the  total 
school  expenditure. 

As  to  the  matter  of  free  textbooks,  there  is  not  sufficient  data  to  warrant 
a  general  statement,  yet  from  a  partial  investigation,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the 
committee,  that,  after  the  pupils  are  once  supplied,  4  per  cent,  will  be  an 
adequate  allowance  for  this  item.  We  have  no  data  as  to  whether  the  same 
care  is  taken  of  the  free  textbooks  as  when  the  parents  supply  them. 

The  amount  required  for  school  supplies,  judged  entirely  from  the  reports 
submitted,  can,  with  safety,  be  put  at  3  per  cent. 

An  examination  of  the  reports  from  the  various  cities  under  the  head 
of  the  "miscellaneous  expenses"  is,  perhaps,  with  the  exception  of  supervision, 
the  most  chaotic  of  any  one  of  the  items  in  the  schedule.  As  an  illustration, 
under  this  head,  various  cities  report  a  percentage  as  follows: 

Chicago 4.  Cleveland 4.  Allegheny 12.5 

Philadelphia 8.4  Milwaukee 1.2  Syracuse 5 . 

St.  Louis 8.2  Louisville 6.5  New  Haven 7. 

Boston 1.55  Minneapolis 2.6  St.  Joseph 5.6 

Baltimore 3.5  Buffalo i .  Los  Angeles 2.2 

San  Francisco 19.0  Providence 9.9  Paterson 2 . 

Pittsburg 16.3  Indianapolis 12.2  Omaha 5.5 

Detroit 6.4  Kansas  City,  Mo 2.4  Scranton 7.2 

Toledo 12.3 

It  would  seem  to  be  the  practice  in  many  cities  when  an  expense  item 
is  difficult  to  classify  that  it  is  most  easily  disposed  of  by  putting  it  into  the 
"miscellaneous"  account. 

Tentative  equations  may  be  obtained  by  throwing  this  item  into  groups 
as  was  done  in  the  previous  subdivisions  by  grouping  the  cities  according 
to  population.  The  mean  average  percentage  of  total  expenditure  is  found 
to  be  as  follows: 

First  group 6.2          Third  group 7.3          Sixth  group  7.3 

Second  group 4.7          Fourth  group 6.8          Seventh  group .    7.5 

Fifth  group 5.7 

Special  attention  is  called  to  the  expenditures  of  the  two  suburban  cities, 
Yonkers  and  Brookline,  as  representatives  of  several  wealthy  suburban  cities 
in  various  sections  of  the  country. 

Yonkers  appropriates  for  high-school  teachers'  salaries,  7.2  per  cent.;  Brookline, 
15.9  per  cent. 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


Yonkers  appropriates  for  elementary  teachers'  salaries,  50.5  per  cent.;    Brookline, 
53.5   per  cent. 

Yonkers  appropriates  for  supervision,  10.8  per  cent.;   Brookline,  3.7  per  cent. 

It  is  seen  that  Yonkers  paid  67.5  per  cent,  for  instruction,  and  Brookline, 
73 .  i    per   cent. 

TABLE  I.— SCHOOL  EXPENDITURES  CLASSIFIED 
GROUPS  I  AND  II. — CITIES  HAVING  A  POPULATION  OF  MORE  THAN  500,000 


NAME  OF  CITY 

POPULA- 
TION 

TOTAL 
EXPENSE 

PERCENTAGE  OF  TOTAL  FOR  EACH  ITEM 

High 
Sch'l 
Tchrs. 

Ele- 
men- 
tary 
Tchrs. 

Su- 
per- 
vision 

Jani- 
tors 

Re- 
pairs 

Fuel 

Text 
B'ks 

Sup- 
plies 

Mis- 
cella- 
neous 

Chicago   1111 

1.608,575 
1,293.697 
S7S.238 
560392 
508.957 

$6,342.502.60 
3,609,245.88 
1,610,647.32 
3,364.592.44 
1,408,978.39 

7-4 
9.9 
6.6 
"•57 
9 

61.1 
56.02 
55-7 
52-35 
62.5 

9.8 
7-7 
"•5 
8.07 
5-6 

8 
7.08 
8.1 
5-66 
6 

3-7 
4-3 
4-1 
10.9 
3-i 

3-6 

2.8 

i-5 

2.86 

4-2 

•5 
1-3 

2.22 
3-0 

1.9 
3-9 

2.1 
3.82 

i-7 

8.4 

8.2 

i-SS 
3-5 

Philadelphia   Pa  

Baltimore,  Md  

GROUP  III. — CITIES  HAVING  A  POPULATION  BETWEEN  200,000  AND  300.000 


381,768 
352,387 
342.782 
321,616 
285,704 
285.315 
246,076 
204,731 
202,718 

$1,697  8l2.39 
I,258,7O2.OO 
1,381,308.51 
I,I5I.063.I5 
986,638.07 
853.559-6I 
986,667.14 
528.323.87 
83O,O52.26 

II 
S-9 
7.8 
6 
it.  6 
6.9 
6-7 
13-7 
13-4 

54 
60.3 
52-9 
49.2 
Si-9 
59-4 
55-5 
48 
55 

8.6 
9.6 

10.3 

9-2 

11.9 
ii-5 

12.  1 
12.4 
10 

7 
5-4 
3-8 
8-5 
9.6 
5-9 
6-3 
7-7 
7 

8-3 
4-7 

1.2 

4-5 
3-3 
4.6 
6.4 
6.1 
4 

6.2 

•5 

2-5 

3-4 
6.8 
1-5 
1-7 
4 

3-2 

2-4 

2-3 

I 

4 
.8 
1-9 

4.1 
1.6 
i.i 

i 
4-5 

2.4 

2.  I 

3-7 
1-4 
1.6 
16.3 
6.4 

1.2 

8.3 
6-5 

2.6 

Buffalo,  N.Y  
San  Francisco,  Calif.  .  . 
Pittsburg,  Pa  

Detroit  Mich  

Milwaukee,  Wis  

Newark  NT  

Minneapolis,  Minn  

GROUP  IV.  —  CITIES  HAVING  A  POPULATION  OF  100.000  TO  200.000 

Providence,  R.  I  
Indianapolis,  Ind  
Kansas  City.  Mo  
Rochester,  N.Y  

i75,->97 
169.164 
163,752 
162,608 
J33.859 
131,822 
129.896 
125.560 
108.374 
108,027 
105,171 
102.470 
102,2/9 
102,255 

IO2  ,O26 

$736,710.55 
671.544.93 

612.4  <;o.  35 
582,346.83 
868,948.41 
433.936.44 
452,212.81 
447.309-93 
469,632.40 
445,065.54 
311,795.13 
588,203.52 
197.599-54 
401,887.73 
416,607.79 

13-1 
12.4 
19.2 
8-5 
13-74 
8 
5-4 
19-3 
9 
il-S 
5-5 
8.6 
12.  14 
ii-5 
8.4 

45-2 
63 
46.4. 
50-7 
54-2 
54-8 
45-6 
46.7 
58-5 
47 
56-9 
62.1 
56 
55-5 
54-8 

i 
15-2 

6.6 
9-7 
11.4 
8.72 

8.2 

10.4 
10.7 
10.7 
9.2 

12.2 

9-4 
6-5 
8-5 

4-3 

7-i 
5-9 
5-9 

6.2 

5-68 
3-4 
6.6 
10.4 
6 
6-5 
5-7 
5-6 
9.4 
8-7 
6.1 

-2 
2.8 

6.6 

3-2 

8-37 
2.7 
6.8 
3-9 
i-7 

2-9 

4.8 
5-3 
5-6 

2.  I 

7 

4-7 

2.8 

5-4 

4-2 

3  25 
5-6 
6.9 
3-9 
5-4 
5-1 
3-6 
1-4 
4-5 
4-2 
4-7 

1.8 

1.2 

•4 
2.41 

2-3 

1-3 
.6 
1.4 
.8 
6.4 
1.9 

2 
4-4 

2.4 

3 
4-1 
3-4 
1-54 
7-3 
2-5 

z 
i-7 
7-3 

3-2 

i 
1-3 
3-1 

9-9 
3 
2-4 

12.5 
6-74 
12.3 
12.5 
4-3 
5 
7 

2 
2.2 

5-6 
5-8 
6-5 

Toledo  O  

New  Haven,  Conn.  .  .  . 

Los  Angeles,  Calif  
St  Joseph  Mo     .  .   . 

GROUP  V. — CITIES  HAVING  A  POPULATION  OF  50.000  TO  100  ooo 


Albany  N.Y  

$311  ,364  .  1  7 

9-4 

47.1 

14.4 

5-6 

5-7 

9-2 

2.3 

j-4 

4-2 

Cambridge,  Mass  

91.886 
89,782 

433,446.49 
184,286.20 

14.2 

IO.2 

Si 

57-7 

ii.  6 

16.5 

8.2 

3 

3-i7 
5-i 

3-1 
1.9 

2 
.02 

2-4 

i.i 

4-4 
4.1 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.  . 
Nashville.  Tenn  

87.565 
80.865 
78  961 

389,564.65 
I774I3-30 
218.846.84 

IO.2 

6.1 
9-2 

45-8 
58.8 
59.  i 

ii.  8 

22.  I 
2.  I 

7-5 
4-6 

10 

2.6 

i-7 
2-9 

4-3 
1-4 
3-8 

.8 

-19 
3.6 

2.6 

I 

2.6 

14-4 
6-7 

Oakland  Calif  

66,960 

332,783.00 

14.7 

52.9 

12-4 

5-5 

I 

1-3 

•9 

2.2 

8.s 

Springfield,  Mass  
Troy.  N.Y  

62,059 
60  651 

403.355-76 
183.205.00 

7-8 
8.9 

52.8 
6? 

II-  5 

A-i 

6.4 
8.7 

3-2 

I 

2.6 

2-3 

•  4 

5-8 

1-3 

7-3 

7.8 

207  .952.  8* 

10.  5 

43 

T*  3 

6 

3-8 

i  .9 

1-5 

17.2 

Manchester,  N.  H  
Utica  N.  Y  

56987 
56.383 

136461.  16 
197.916.50 

9 

10 

56.4 
50 

5-5 
16.6 

4.8 
5.7 

7-3 
3-7 

7-5 
6-3 

.003 

4-5 
3 

5-4 

10 

Peoria  111 

11.4 

41  .3 

14.3 

7-3 

12.  I 

2.6 

8.7 

•9 

Charleston  S.  C  
Duluth.  Minn  
Harrisburg,  Pa  

55.807 
52,069 
50,167 

80403.45 
237.553-45 
i7o,73i-79 

10.6 
7-7 
11.3 

61.2 
50.2 
50.8 

14.7 
10.3 
4-5 

2.6 

10.3 
8-3 

4-5 
3-4 
6.1 

.8 

8.2 

4-7 

3-4 
1-7 
6.8 

•9 
2.6 

3-4 

i.i 
5-5 
4 

1  Chicago:     parental   schools,   $49,316.98;    normal   schools   $58,102.39;    evening   schools,   $82,918.33; 
not  included  in  total,  $190,337.70. 

»  $4.39  of  52.35  per  cent,  is  for  special  schools. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


TABLE  I— Continued 
GROUP  VI. — CITIES  HAVING  A  POPULATION  OF  20,000  TO  50,000 


NAME  OF  Crrv 

POPULA- 
TION 

TOTAL 

EXPENSE 

PERCENTAGE  OF  TOTAL  FOR  EACH  ITEM 

High 
Sch'l 
Tchrs. 

Ele- 
men- 
tary 
Tchrs. 

Su- 
per- 
vision 

Jani- 
tors 

Re- 
pairs 

Fuel 

Text 
B'ks 

Sup- 
plies 

Mis- 
cella- 
neous 

Yonkers,  NT.  Y  
Waterbury,  Conn  
Fort  Wayne,  Ind  

47-931 
4S.8S7 
45  us 
40.169 
38.878 
38.145 
37  714 
36.848 
36.673 
36,196 
35254 
34,159 
33.587 
32,637 
31-560 
31,091 
29.282 
28.895 
28,757 
28,157 
24.029 
22.258 
22.034 
21,850 
21,723 
21,500 
21,108 
21,085 
20,178 

$274,017.30 
180,918.00 
144,106.81 
153,646.90 
108,644.34 
73,556  .40 
185,149.79 
196.767.74 
162,621.00 
96,121  .66 
161,754.24 
113,167.31 
115  664  .  oo 
56,808.44 
68.147.00 
142.208.50 
185.302.50 
98.197-85 
88,926.88 
94,835.36 
84,189.00 
60.351-45 
106.425.85 
70,231.97 
79.327.99 
116.538.76 
21,664.18 
174.518.67 
69,809.63 

7-2 
6.2 

14-5 
5-5 
8.8 
9 
10 
12.5 
"•3 
9 
14.6 
17-7 
10.  4 

12 
6.2 

5-5 
9.63 

IO.2 
II.4 
14.8 
I7.I 
17.2 
16.4 

7-9 
iS-4 

II.  2 
10 
I6.5 

SO-S 
60.7 

66 
40.4 
57.  8 
52.6 
56 
49.9 
52-3 
48.6 
42 
40 
49.1 
54-8 
45-3 
48.7 
73 
53-82 
S3  -8 
47-4 
43-3 
50.9 
48.43 
48.7 
51 
62.6 
57-5 
36 
52.2 

10.8 
10.9 
IS 
19.1 
I3-S 
15-1 
ii.  6 
8.9 
8-5 
17-3 
14.2 
13-5 
7-2 
17-7 
18.2 
0.9 
7-2 
10.5 
3-3 
ii.  8 
6-5 
3-3 
6.41 
10.9 
3 
2.7 

12.8 

n-3 

7-9 

5-3 
5-2 
6 
6.4 
5-3 
5-9 
7-3 
8 
6.5 

7-2 

5-4 
6.9 
6.8 
6.9 
8.3 
8.6 

4-2 

9.18 
7-1 
7-1 
3-4 
3.6 
6-49 
6.1 
8.1 

6.2 

3 
4 
7-i 

6-3 
5-3 
1-4 

5-2 

8.9 

1.  1 
2.7 
4 
7-7 
S-i 
13-6 
7.2 
i-7 
1.4 

6-3 

4.2 
4-7 
2-9S 
5-7 
79 
5-1 
1.6 
7.08 
3-8 
•7 

2.  I 
2.6 
4 
i-4 

6.8 
S-S 
•4 
3-i 
4 
1.8 

2-3 

3-8 

2.8 

4 
3-6 
2.4 
6.8 
2-4 
3-9 
6.9 
1.6 
5.62 
5-7 
1.8 
6.6 
1-5 
4.62 
5-i 
4 
1-3 
2.  I 
2 

7-3 

3-6 
4.8 

3-3 

•5 
3-4 

4^8 
•9 

s:l 

2.  I 
I.I 
2.96 
2.  I 

S-i 

1.69 

3-1 
5-7 

•4 
3 

6.4 
1-4 
1-4 
3-6 

3-5 
i.i 
5-5 
3-5 
1-7 

2-5 

1-7 

2.7 
4-3 
3-6 
i-7 

2.  2O 
2.  I 

4-5 
i-5 
•4 
2-75 
4-i 
•9 
3-1 
5-7 
6.8 

2-7 

S-6 
4.6 
5-3 
10.8 
9-7 
5-7 

6.2 

4.6 
7 
3-3 
4 
2-4 
1-3 
9.6 

2 
3-35 

7-6 
8.4 
14.2 
21.3 
5-37 

2-5 

17-5 
S 
3-1 
21.4 
7-6 

Wheeling  W.  Va  
Birmingham.  Ala  

Terre  Haute.  Ind  

Davenport.  Iowa.  
Springfield,  111  

Knoxville,  Tenn  

Wichita  Kans  

Superior,  Wis  
Sacramento,  Calif  
La  Crosse,  Wis  

Pueblo  Colo  

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y... 
Austin  Tex     

Newport.  R.I  
Bangor,  Me  

Colorado  Spgs.,  Jolo.  . 

GROUP  VII.  —  CITIES  HAVING  A  POPULATION  OF  10,000  TO  20,000 

19-935 
19.164 
18.640 
18,226 
16485 
16.313 
14087 
16  013 
II  499 
10,  poo 

?I55675.  1  1 
62.802.49 
63884.31 
75359-9° 
59292.83 
73873.00 
30,7^3.38 
33.024.00 
45064.  25 
24,142.94 

15-9 
23-4 

16.6 
14 
16 
II 
12.7 
8 
13-7 
16.5 

53-5 
38-5 
40.9 
49.2 
46.7 
41-3 
53-9 
46.8 
44-3 
45  -3 

3-7 
9 
5-3 
8-3 
6-3 
14.6 
7 
28.7 

8.2 
6.2 

8.1 
7-8 
8.8 
S-7 
.8.5 
7-9 
6.8 
6.6 
5-8 
7-7 

4-5 
3-1 
I 
2-5 

5 
4.9 
4 
.1 
4.9 
3-6 

3-7 
10.9 

10 

5-4 
8 

3    2 

2 

3 

ii 
6 

2.2 

•°S 
4-7 

2.'fi 

i-5 
1.6 

5-3 
4-7 

.2 
9.4 
2.8 
2 
2.6 
.  I 

6 
1-3 

3-2 

2-  55 
12.7 
S-S 
7 
14.2 

12 
2-7 

4-i 
11.4 

Burlington,  Vt  

Ogden  Utah  

Rutland  Vt      ... 

A  SUPPLEMENTARY  LETTER  OF  INQUIRY 

KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  May  10,  1904. 
Superindent 

DEAR  SIR:  At  a  recent  committee  meeting  on  "Taxation  for  School  Purposes," 
held  in  Chicago,  an  extended  discussion  and  review  of  the  statistics  already  in  hand  took 
place.  Further  verification  and  some  modification  of  the.  figures  returned  are  desirable. 

I  herewith  hand  you  the  statement  of  the  expenditures  of  your  schools  as  you  fur- 
nished it  for  the  year  1902—03.  The  committee  is  very  desirious  of  having  trustworthy 
information. 

The  annoyance  of  the  return  of  your  report  for  the  third  time,  I  trust,  will  be  forgiven, 
and  that  you  will  make  it  convenient  to  return  the  modified  report  promptly  to  the  under- 
signed. The  greatest  possibility  of  misapprehension  occurs  in  only  two  items,  to  which 
your  attention  may  be  confined. 

First,  the  item  o}  "Supervision." — Under  this  head,  in  order  that  the  basis  of  compu- 
tation may  be  uniform,  you  are  asked  to  include  (i)  the  entire  salary  of  superintendents, 
assistant  superintendents,  headmasters,  and  supervisors  of  departments;  (2) 'the  entire 


16  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

salary  of  all  principals  who  have  no  regular  classes  which  they  teach;  (3)  that  portion  of 
the  salary  of  principals  who  teach  all  or  a  part  of  the  time,  which  exceeds  the  salary  of  a 
regular  teacher.  For  instance,  if  the  principal  receives  $2,000  a  year  and  teaches  half 
the  time  and  the  salary  of  a  teacher  doing  corresponding  work  is  $700,  the  amount  charge- 
able to  supervision  is  $1,650  and  $350  to  elementary  teaching;  but  if  the  principal  teaches 
all  the  time  and  receives  $2,000  and  a  regular  teacher  doing  the  same  kind  of  work  is  paid 
$700,  then  $1,300  should  be  charged  to  supervision. 

Second,  the  item  of  "Miscellaneous." — Under  this  head,  state  definitely  what  items 
are  included.  May  I  not  have  your  reply  at  once  ? 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

J.  M.  GREENWOOD,  Chairman. 

The  following  brief  explanations  furnished  by  the  superintendents  of 
the  different  cities  show  what  items  are  included  under  the  head  of  "Miscel- 
laneous:" 

CHICAGO. — All  items  not  properly  chargeable  to  items  specified. 

ST.  Louis. — Contingent  fund,  examining  books,  expense,  furniture,  gas,  electric 
light,  insurance,  kindergarten  supplies,  kindergarten  pianos,  planting  trees,  rent  of  school- 
houses,  World's  Fair  exhibit,  salaries  of  officers,  street  sprinkling,  taxes — special,  vault 
cleaning,  water  license,  legal  expense. 

BALTIMORE. — Printing,   advertising,  etc.,  janitor  supplies. 

BOSTON. — Rent  of  school  buildings,  etc.,  etc. 

DETROIT. — Officers'  and  clerks'  salaries,  kindergarten  supplies,  manual-training 
equipment  and  supplies,  janitor  supplies,  furniture  and  fixtures,  light  and  motor  current, 
rent  of  buildings,  insurance,  office  expense,  census  enumeration,  books. 

NEWARK. — Miscellaneous  includes  medical  inspectors'  salaries,  officers'  salaries, 
furniture  and  supplies,  manual-training  supplies,  heating  apparatus,  light  and  power, 
water,  rent,  insurance,  playgrounds,  incidentals. 

MINNEAPOLIS. — Rent,  insurance,  administrative  and  incidental  expenses. 

LOUISVILLE. — Law  fees,  printing  and  stationery  for  schools,  advertising,  census, 
expense,  janitor  supplies,  insurance,  light,  water,  repairs  to  furniture  and  apparatus, 
commencement  expenses  for  high  schools,  the  salary  of  the  secretary,  stenographer,  and 
bookkeepers,  supervision  of  buildings. 

DENVER. — Salaries,  water,  light,  general  supplies,  printing,  insurance,  current 
interest,  rent,  transportation,  telephone,  general  expenses. 

NEW  HAVEN. — Salaries  of  officers  (other  than  the  superintendents  of  schools),  sal- 
aries of  clerical  assistants,  rent,  school  census,  gas,  telephone  service,  graduation  expenses, 
express,  cartage,  travel,  incidentals,  electrical  current. 

SCRANTON. — Gas,  telephone,  rent,  water,  labor,  furniture,  horse  and  wagon,  legal 
expenses,  tax  refunding. 

OMAHA. — Advertising,  cartage,  census  enumerating,  election  expenses,  examination 
committee  expenses,  freight,  legal  expenses,  messenger  service,  page  service,  postage, 
printing,  piano  rent  and  tuning,  stationery  for  secretary  and  superintendent's  office, 
telephones. 

Los  ANGELES. — Normal  work,  electricity  in  schools,  gas,  rent  of  extra  rooms,  street 
assessments,  water,  rent,  institute  rent  of  pianos,  commencement  exercises,  insurance 
of  buildings. 

ALBANY. — Salaries  of  superintendents  of  buildings,  clerk  of  board,  stenographer 
and  two  attendance  officers,  compulsory  law  expenses,  night  schools,  books  for  school 
library,  school  furniture,  apparatus,  and  such  incidentals  as  freight,  cartage,  telephones 
and  insurance. 

NASHVILLE. — Salary  of  one  clerk,  librarian,  carpenter,  manual-training  supplies, 
census  expenses,  postage,  telephones,  brooms,  soap,  etc. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  17 

READING. — Officers'  salaries,  secretary,  treasurer,  clerk,  librarian,  expenses  to 
conventions,  etc. 

OAKLAND. — School  furniture,  census,  gas,  light,  electric  power,  hardware,  insurance, 
etc. 

MANCHESTER. — Books  and  stationery,  furniture  and  supplies,  manual  training, 
night  schools,  salaries  of  school  board,  clerk,  truant  officer. 

UTICA. — Salaries  of  officers  except  superintendent  of  buildings,  janitor  supplies, 
printing,  postage,  stationery. 

PEORIA. — Only  things  that  cannot  be  classified  under  any  other  head. 

CHARLESTON. — Ice  tickets,  postage,  stationery  for  office  use  and  other  incidentals. 

WATERBURY. — No  expenditure  under  the  head  of  "Miscellaneous." 

LINCOLN. — Salary  of  truant  officer,  transportation,  rent,  messenger  service,  laundry, 
water,  gas,  electricity,  commencement  exercises. 

TERRE  HAUTE. — Clerks,  interest,  enumeration  of  children,  insurance,  telephone, 
rent,  light,  commission  on  state  textbooks,  labor,  hauling. 

DUBUQUE. — Salaries  of  secretary,  treasurer,  clerk  and  librarian,  census,  telephone, 
postage,  rent)  advertising,  freight,  drayage,  gas,  telegrams,  water,  school  election. 

FITCHBURG,  MASS. — Rents,  gas,  electric  light,  clerk,  truant  officer  and  numerous 
other  items. 

KNOXVILLE. — Postage,  hauling,  express  and  freight,  rent,  cleaning  up  buildings, 
extra  help,  toilet  supplies,  supplies  for  manual  training. 

WICHITA. — Insurance,  rents,  truant  officer,  printing,  lectures,  scavengers,  enumeration. 

WHEELING,  W.  VA. — Salary  of  officers,  books,  stationery  and  supplies,  printing 
and  advertising,  census  and  enumeration,  commencement  exercises,  rent  of  board  rooms, 
insurance,  refund  taxes,  salaries  of  examination  committee,  teachers'  institute,  dues  to 
suburban  board  of  education,  repairing  board  rooms,  telephone,  office  supplies,  etc.,  etc. 

SUPERIOR. — Bonds  and  interest,  furniture,  fixtures,  postage,  freight,  drayage,  express, 
rent,  laboratory  supplies,  carpenter  services,  printing  and  advertising,  truant  officer,  light 
and  power,  transportation,  insurance  and  repairs,  improvements,  and  a  small  miscel- 
laneous account. 

SACRAMENTO,  CALIF. — Telephone  rent,  soap,  laundry,  express,  drayage,  diplomas, 
etc. 

LA  CROSSE,  Wis. — Postage,  telephone,  express,  labor,  electric  light,  gas,  printing, 
furniture,  and  other  incidentals. 

WILLIAMSPORT. — Insurance,  salary  of  librarian,  salary  of  attendance  officer,  bills 
for  freight  and  express,  bills  for  general  expenses  of  office,  etc. 

BANGOR,  ME. — Books,  regular  school  supplies,   furniture,   fuel,  salaries,  janitors. 

SAN  JOSE. — Feed  for  superintendent's  horse,  school  census,  apparatus,  cartage, 
rent,  water,  printing,  telephone,  gas,  insurance,  etc. 

BIRMINGHAM. — Salaries  of  secretary  and  librarian,  insurance,  rents,  census,  interest 
on  loans,  printing  annual  report,  school  furniture,  over-draft  from  last  year,  general 
expenditure. 

COLUMBIA,  S.  C. — School  furniture,  interest,  buildings. 

CHEYENNE. — Water,  rent,  insurance,  clocks,  hardware,  furniture,  lights,  printing, 
trees,  interest,  library,  clerk's  salary,  election  expenses,  postage,  stationery,  office  supplies. 

MADISON. — Apparatus   and   library,    clerk's   salary,    printing,   insurance,   interest. 

Table  II  is  based  on  the  reports  of  expenditures  furnished  by  the  city 
superintendents  for  the  school  year  of  1902-03,  and  it  includes  in  the  aggregate 
these  three  items :  High-school  teachers'  salaries,  elementary  teachers'  salaries, 
and  the  cost  of  supervision,  or,  more  briefly,  the  cost  of  instruction  as  distin- 
guished from  the  other  expenditures: 


i8 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


Chicago,  111 78.6 

Philadelphia.  Pa 73-6 

St.  Louis,  Mo 78.1 

Boston,  Mass'. 72 . 99 

Baltimore,  Md 77-6 

San  Francisco,  Calif .  70 

Pittsburg,  Pa 64 . 4 

Detroit,  Mich 74-4 

Milwaukee,  Wis 79 

Cleveland,  Ohio 74 

Newark,  N.  J 74-3 

Louisville,  Ky 75 .9 

Minneapolis,  Minn... 78. 4 

Buffalo,  N.  Y 78.5 

Providence,  R.  1 73 . 5 

Indianapolis,  Ind . .  .  .73.8 

Kansas  City,  Mo 75 . 3 

Rochester,  N.  Y 70  6 

Denver,  Colo 76. 66 

Toledo,  Ohio 71 

Allegheny,  Pa 61.4 

Syracuse,  N.  Y 78 . 2 

New  Haven,  Conn ...  67 . 7 

St.  Joseph,  Mo 74. 19 

Los  Angeles,  Calif .  .  .  80 .  i 

Columbus,  Ohio 76.4 

Paterson,  N.  J. ..... .76.9 

Omaha,  Neb 75-5 


TABLE  II 

Scranton,  Pa 67 . 5 

Albany,  N.  Y 70.9 

Cambridge,  Mass. . .  .76.8 

Atlanta,  Ga 84.4 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 77. 8 

Nashville,  Tenn 87 

Reading,  Pa 70 . 4 

Oakland,  Calif 80 

Springfield,  Mass. .  .  .  72 .  i 

Evansville,  Ind 69 . 8 

Manchester,  N.  H . . .  70 . 9 

Utica,  N.  Y 76.6 

Charleston,  S.  C 86.5 

Duluth,  Minn 68.2 

Harrisburg,  Pa 66 . 6 

Troy,  N.  Y 82.2 

Peoria,  111 68.7 

Yonkers,  N.  Y 68.7 

Waterbury,  Conn  ....77.8 

Ft.  Wayne,  Ind 81 

Lincoln,  Neb 74 

Wheeling,  W.  Va 76.8 

Birmingham,  Ala. . .  .77.1 

Tacoma,  Wash 76. 6 

Terre  Haute,  Ind. . .  .73.3 

Dubuque,  Iowa 77.2 

Davenport,  Iowa 65 . 2 

Springfield,  111 77.1 


Fitchburg,  Mass 74 

Knoxville,  Tenn 82 . 9 

Superior,  Wis 64 . 8 

Sacramento,  Calif...  85.7 

La  Crosse,  Wis 73-95 

Williamsport,  Pa 67 . 3 

Pueblo,  Colo 70 . 6 

Wichita,  Kas 75 . 5 

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. .  64 . 4 

Austin,  Texas 71.3 

Newport,  R.  1 71.9 

Bangor,  Me 76 

Lima,  Ohio 61.9 

San  Jose,  Calif 85 . 3 

Columbia,  S.  C 81.5 

Colorado  Sp'gs,  Colo. 5 7. 3 

Madison,  Wis 7°  •  9 

Burlington,  Vt 62 .8 

Richmond,  Ind 71 .5 

Lansing.  Mich 68 . 3 

Ogden,  Utah 66.9 

Cheyenne,  Wyo 73-6 

Shreveport,  La 83 . 5 

Moberly,  Mo 68 

Rutland,  Vt 66.2 

Anderson,  Ind 76.6 

Spokane,  Wash 68.8 


Table  III  was  computed  for  the  purpose  of  showing  what  per  cent,  the 
school  expenditure  for  maintenance  and  operation  is  of  the  total  municipal 
expenditures,  based  upon  the  data  collected  and  published  by  the  Department 
of  Labor  in  Bulletin  No,  42,  September,  1902. 


TABLE  III 


Crnr 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total 
Expenditures 

Total  for  Mainte- 
nance and 
Operation  of  Schools 

Total  City 
Operating 
Expenses 

New  York  N.  Y  

36.85 

22  260  66  1 

Philadelphia,  Pa  

17.37 

3.310  604 

19  106,707 

1,536.140 

.  8.715  821 

13.80 

18  61 

Cleveland   O  

4,8015,717 

Buffalo  NY               

IQ  8c 

5  865.285 

19.08 

,166,763 

5  891.297 

18.12 

6,215  866 

Pittsburg,  Pa  

843  648 

5.406.446 

478,025 

4,297.808 

Detroit.  Mich  

869.713 

4  055  966 

764.068 

3.733.315 

Washington  DC        .     .  .          

5.387,271 

Newark   N.  J  

830.081 

3.812.511 

Jersey  City  N  J  

3.508.464 

18.59 

512.947 

2,774  087 

736.981 

2,044.208 

21-34 

739,695 

3.465,201 

REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


TABLE  III— Continued 


City 


Per  Cent,  of 

Total 
Expenditures 

r 


Total  for  Mainte- 
nance and 
Operation  of  Schools 


Total  City 
Operating 
Expenses 


Indianapolis,  Ind 32-75 

Kansas  City,  Mo 20. 17 

St.  Paul,  Minn 24.67 

Rochester,  N.  Y 16.67 

Denver,  Colo 35-93 

Toledo.  O 25-33 

Allegheny,  Pa 22.14 

Columbus,  O 29. 15 

Worcester,  Mass 21 . 94 

Syracuse.  N.  Y v 17.86 

New  Haven.  Conn 26 . 35 

Paterson.  N.  J 25.48 

Fall  River,  Mass 20. 22 

St.  Joseph.  Mo 17.73 

Omaha.  Neb 27. 16 

I/w  Angeles  Calif 33. 76 

Memphis,  Tenn 15 . 39 

Scranton,  Pa 41-37 

Lowell,  Mass 23 . 58 

Albany  N.  Y 20.25 

Cambridge.  Mass 20.37 

Portland,  Ore 28 

Atlanta.  Ga 14-32 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich 29.42 

Dayton.  O 33-77 

Richmond,  Va 08.35 

Nashville,  Tenn 20.63 

Seattle,  Wash 23 . 56 

Hartford,  Conn 26 . 45 

Reading,  Pa 30. 70 

Wilmington,  Del 20. 22 

Camden,  N.  T 28 . 93 

Trenton.  N.  J 27 . 79 

Bridgeport,  Conn 22 . 79 

Lynn.  Mass 19- 52 

Oakland.  Calif 40-89 

Lawrence.  Mass 22 . 93 

New  Bedford .  Mass 23.07 

Des  Moines.  Iowa 36 . 69 

Springfield,  111 30.92 

Somervil'e,  Mass 28 . 39 

Troy,  N.  Y  21 . 18 

Hoboken,  N.  Y 22.43 

Evansville,  Ind 29.26 

Manchester,  N.  H 19-94 

Utica,  N.  Y 26  04 

Peoria,  111 28.67 

Charleston.  S.  C 12.75 

Salt  I*ike  City.  Utah 33  40 

San  Antonio,  Tex 25 . 84 

Duluth.  Minn 24.09 

Erie,  Pa 31.12 

Elizabeth,  N.  J 26.69 

Wilkesbarre,  Pa 38. 74 

Kansas  City.  Kas 22 .03 

Harrishurg.  Pa 33. 20 

Portland,  Me 20. 10 

Yonkers.  N.  Y 24.96 

Warfield,  Va 69.68 

Waterbury.  Conn 42 . 49 

Holyoke,  Mass 24.88 

Ft.  Wayne.  Ind 30 .70 

Youngstown,  O 34-93 

Houston,  Tex 18.31 

Covington,  Ky 19-71 

Akron,  O 44. 13 

Dallas,  Tex 19.48 

Saginaw,  Mich 33-97 

I-ancaster,  Pa 35-67 

Lincoln,  Neb 33.63 

Brockton.  Mass 22 . 17 

Binghamton,     NT.  Y 35 . 28 

Pawtucket,  R.  1 20.39 

Altoona,  Pa 32-24 

Wheeling,  W.  Va 21 . 54 

Birmingham,  Ala 17-17 

Little  Rock,  Ark 38.41 


$558.630 
555.732 
584-702 
550.031 
679  091 
398,805 
363  027 
421,588 
517.844 
410.459 
382.950 
313,166 
326.335 
160,490 
392.276 
497.016 
140,863 
315,146 
331-899 
294,065 
439.543 
268.791 
166,842 
304,450 
318,402 
124,107 
169,799 
263  959 
385,731 
212.326 
195,109 
242,021 
222.246 
179-775 
237,972 
299  017 
185  821 
234.940 
272.444 
359  56° 
294-374 
215.120 
185.560 
175.229 
125  929 
169.149 
199306 
77-443 
264557 
107,965 
241.867 
137896 
126,660 
144.211 
116 .6  n 
157.604 
I39.57I 
207.045 
58.774 
179-955 
T97."7 
111,732 
145-314 
125.231 
98823 
165.828 
92,762 
142.353 
88,944 
117,821 
140.787 
156  363 
134  843 
88.699 
94-545 
50,718 
76,427 


$1.706  434 

2,751  935 

2,368  991 

3-238368 

1,889  983 

1,574,315 

1,639.540 

1,446.274 

2.364  259 

2,296  883 

1,453  412 

1,228.754 

1,613.904 

004  996 

1,144,287 

1,472.576 

915  090 

761,731 

1,407.470 

1,452.016 

2,157.086 

959  286 

1,164  751 

1,034  5o6 

943  194 

1.261,816 

822  282 

1,120.302 

1,457  939 

691.480 

671.113 

836.568 

799.660 

782. 71 r 

1,218.840 

73l,l8l 

810  371 

1,107  980 

742  460 

1,162,739 

1,036.717 

1,015  681 

828  814 
598.742 
631  284 
649  502 
694  825 
607  227 
789.942 
417673 

1,006.551 
442  985 
474  510 
372.229 
550.042 
448.155 
694  289 

829  422 
843 .462 
423  469 
791  951 
363835 
415  932 
681.382 
474  810 
375.527 
466.822 
419033 
249  353 
350.259 
635  042 
443.110 
664.189 
275-085 
438.783 
412.982 
198,953 


20 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


CITIES  GROUPED  GEOGRAPHICALLY 

For  convenience  of  reference  geographically,  the  cities  are  grouped  into 
six  subdivisions  in  which  thirteen  cities  are  in  New  England  group,  seventeen 
in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Delaware,  twenty  in  the  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley,  east  of  the  Mississipppi  River,  ten  in  the  Southern  States, 
twelve  in  the  Central  and  Upper  Mississippi  Valley  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  twelve  in  the  Western  and  Pacific  Slope  States. 

TABLE  IV 
GROUP  I. — NEW  ENGLAND  CITIES 


NAME  OF  Cmr 

POPULA- 
TION 

TOTAL 
EXPENSE 

PERCENTAGE  or  TOTAL  FOR  EACH  ITEM 

High 
Sch'l 
Tchrs. 

Ele- 

tary 
Tchrs. 

Su- 

P«.r- 

vision 

Jani- 
tors 

Re- 
pairs 

Fuel 

Text 
B'ks 

Sup- 
plies 

Mis- 
cella- 
neous 

560.892 
175-507 
108.027 
91,886 
62,059 
56.987 
45.857 
33.587 
22.034 
21,850 
19,935 
18.640 
1  1  .  juu 

$3.364.592.44 
736,710.55 
445,o65.54 
443,446.49 
403.355.76 
136.461.16 
180.918.00 
115,664.00 
106.425.86 
70,231.97 
155,67"!.  II 
63,884.31 

AC.  064.  2? 

11.65 
I3.I 
II.  S 
14.2 
7-8 
9 

6.2 

17-7 

I?.  12 
16.4 
15-9 

16.6 

H.7 

49.11 

45.2 
47 

52.8 
56.4 
60.7 
49-1 
48.43 
48.7 
53-5 
40.9 

44.1 

12.  i 
15-2 
9.2 
ii.  6 
"-S 
S-S 
10.9 
7.2 
6.41 
10.9 
3-7 
5-3 

8.2 

5-66 
7-1 
6-5 

8.2 

6.4 
4.8 
S-a 
6.8 
6.49 
6.1 
8.1 
8.8 
t.8 

10.9 

.2 
2-9 
3-17 
3-2 

7-3 
5-3 
i-7 
7.08 
3-8 

4-5 

I 

.10 

2.86 
4-7 
5-i 
3-i 
3 
7-5 
5-5 
6.8 
4.62 
5-1 
3-7 

10 

ii 

2.22 
1.8 
.8 

2 
2-3 

4-'s' 

S-3 
i  .69 
3-1 

2.2 

4-7 
I   < 

3.82 
a.  4 
7-3 
2.4 
S-8 
4-5 
1.4 
1-7 
2.75 
4.1 
5-3 

.2 

6 

i  -55 
0.9 
7 
4.4 

7-3 
5-4 

4 
5-37 
2.5 

3-2 

12.7 

A.  I 

Providence.  R.  I  

New  Haven,  Conn.  .  .  . 
Cambridge,  Mass  
Springfield,  Mass  
Manchester,  N.  H  
Waterbury.  Conn  

Newport   R  I  

Bangor.  Me  

Rutland.  Vt... 

GROOP  II.  —  Cures  OF  NEW  YORK,  PENNSYLVANIA,  NEW  JERSEY,  AND  DELAWARE 

Philadelphia.  Pa  
Buffalo,  N.  Y  
Pittsburg  Pa  

1,293.607 
352387 
321.616 
246.076 
162.608 
129,896 
108.374 
105.171 
102,026 
04.151 
78.961 
60.651 
56.383 
50,167 
47931 
28.757 
24.029 

$3.609.245.88 
1,285.702.00 
1,151.963.15 
986.667.14 
582.346.83 
452.212.81 
469.632.40 
311,793.13 
416,607.79 
311.364.17 
218.846.84 
183.205.00 
197,916.50 
170,731  •  79 
274,017.30 
88926.88 
84,189.00 

9.9 
S-9 
6 
6.7 
8-5 
5-4 
9 
S-S 
8.4 
9-4 
9.2 
8.9 
10 
11.3 
7.2 

IO.2 
I4.8 

56.02 
60.3 
49.2 
55-5 
50.7 
45-6 
58.5 
56.9 
54-8 
47.1 
59-1 
67 
50 
50.8 
So.  5 
53-8 
43-3 

7-7 
9-6 

9-2 
2.1 
1.4 

0.4 
0.7 

2.2 

4-3 
14.4 
2.  I 

6-7 
16.6 

4-5 
10.8 
3-3 
65 

7-8 
S-4 
8  5 
6-3 

6.2 

6.6 
6 
S-7 
6.1 
S-6 

10 

8-7 

S-7 
8-3 
5-3 
7-i 
3-4 

4-3 

4-7 
4-5 
6.4 

3-2 

6.8 
i-7 
4.8 
7 
S-7 
2.9 
i 
3-7 
6.1 
6-3 
5-7 
5-1 

2.8 
6.2 
2-5 

1-5 

4-2 

6  9 
5-4 
3-6 
4-7 
9.2 
3-8 

2.6 

6-3 
4-8 
6.8 
5-7 
6.6 

2.5 
2-3 
4 
•4 
1-3 
1-4 
6.4 
4-4 
2-3 
3-6 
•4 
.003 
6.8 
3-6 

2.  I 

5-1 

3-9 

4.1 
i.i 

3-4 
2-5 
1-7 

3-1 
2-4 
2.6 

i-3 
3 
3-4 
6.4 

2.1 
I-S 

84 
i 
16.3 
8-3 

12.  S 
12-  S 

5 

2 
6-S 
42 

6.7 

2.8 

IO 

4 
2.7 
7-6 
14.3 

Newark  ,  N.  T  

Rochester.  N.  Y  
Allegheny,  Pa  

Paterson,  N.  J  

Albany,  N.  Y  

Troy  NY    .... 

Utica  N.  Y  

Yonkers  N.  Y  

Williamsport,  Pa  
Poughkeepsie,  N.Y..  .  . 

GROUP  III.  —  CITIES  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY,  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

Chicago  111.'  

1,698.575 
381,768 
285,704 
285.316 
169,164 
131,822 
125.560 
108.374 
59.007 
56,100 
45  US 
36,673 
34.159 
31*01 
28395 
21,723 
20,178 
19,164 
18,226 
16-485 

$6.342.502.60 
1,697.812.30 
986,638.00 
853,559.6i 
671,544-93 
'    433936.44 
447.309.93 
469.632.40 
207.952.82 
223  843.71 
144.106.81 
162  621.00 
113,167.31 
142.208.50 
98,197-85 
79,327.99 
69,809.63 
62.802.49 
75  359-90 
59,292  •  83 

7-4 
II 

ii.  6 
6.9 

'I'4 
19-3 
9 
10.5 
11.4 

12.  S 
14.6 

6.2 

9.63 

7-9 

16.5 
23-4 
14 
16 

61.1 
54 
Si-9 
59-4 
63 
54-8 
46-7 
58.5 
43 
41-3 
66 
52-3 
49 
48.7 
53-82 
51 
52.2 
38.S 
49-2 
46.7 

9.8 

8.2 

11.9 

11.4 
6.6 

8.2 

10.7 
10.7 
16.3 
M-3 
15 
8-S 
I3-S 
9-9 
10.5 
3 
7-9 
9 
8  3 
6-3 

8 

9.6 
5-9 
S-9 
3-4 
to.  4 
6 
6 
7-3 
6 
6-5 
6.9 
8.6 
9.18 
8.1 
7-i 
7-8 
S-7 

s-s 

3-7 
8-3 
3-3 
4-6 

2.8 

2.7 
3-9 
i-7 
3-8 

12.  1 

i-4 

7-7 
7-2 

42 

2.95 
•  7 
1.4 
3-1 
2-5 
5 

3-6 
4 
3-4 
6.8 

2.8 

5-6 
3-9 
S-4 
1-9 

2.6 
2^8 

2.4 

6.9 
5.62 

4 
7-3 
10.9 
S-4 
8 

-5 

3-2 

I 

1.2 
2-3 

.6 
i-4 
1-5 

•9 

2.  I 
2.96 

S-7 
•  05 

1.9 

I" 

4-5 
3 
7-3 

i 
1-7 

8-7' 
1-4 
3-5 
2-5 
3-6 
2.29 
•9 

4-7 
9-4 
a.  8 

4 
3-7 
6.4 

1.2 

3 
12.3 
4-3 
S 
17.2 
•9 
5-6 
6.2 

3-3 
9.6 
3-3S 
I7-S 
7.6 
2-55 
S-S 
7 

Cleveland  O  

Detroit  Mich 

Milwaukee,  Wis  
Indianapolis,  Ind  
Toledo,  O  

Columbus.  O  

Grand  Rapids.  Mich.  . 
Evansville,  Ind  

Peoria  111  

Ft.  Wayne,  Ind  

Terre  Haute.  Ind  
Sprinefield.  Ill  

Superior,  Wis  
La  Crossc,  Wis  

Anderson,  Ind  

•Chicago,  111.:  Parental  schools,  $49,316.98;  normal  schools,  $58,102.39;  evening  schools,  $82.918.33; 
not  included  in  above,  $190,337. 70.  "I  think  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  all  money  paid  to  superintendents  and 
principals  is  paid  for  supervision." — E.  G.  COOLEY. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


21 


TABLE  TV— Continued 
GROUP  IV. — CITIES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES 


NAME  OF  Crry 

POPULA- 
TION 

TOTAL 
EXPENSE 

PERCENTAGE  OF  TOTAL  FOR  EACH  ITEM 

High 
Sch'l 
Tchrs. 

Ele- 
men- 
tary 
Tchrs. 

Su- 
per- 
vision 

Jani- 
tors 

Re- 
pairs 

Fuel 

Text 
B'ks 

Sup- 
plies 

Mis- 
cella- 
neous 

Louisville,  Ky  
Atlanta,  Ga  

204,731 
89782 
80.865 
55807 
38.878 
38,145 
32,637 
22,258 
21,108 
16,013 

$516821.35 
184  286  .  20 
177  413^30 
80.403.45 
108644.34 
73  556.40 
56,808.44 
60,351.45 
21.664.18 
33,024.00 

'4 
IO.  2 

6.1 

10.6 
5-5 
8.8 
10.4 
17.1 

II.  2 

8 

49.2 

57-7 
58.8 
6l.2 
57.8 
52.6 
54-8 
50.9 
57-5 
46.8 

12.7 
16.5 

22.1 
14.7 
13-5 
I5-I 
17.7 

3-3 

12.8 

28.7 

7-9 
3 
4-6 

2.6 

5^-3 
5-9 
6.9 
3-6 

6.6 

6.3 
5-1 
t-7 
4-5 
8.9 
1.  1 
1,4 
1.6 

2.6 

.1 

i-7 
1.9 
1.4 
.8 

1.8 
2-4 

i-5 

2.1 

3 

.8 
.02 
.19 
3-4 

2.4 
i.i 
i 
•9 

5 
4.1 
4 
i.i 
5-3 
10.8 
2.4 
21.3 
3-i 
2.7 

Nashville  Tenn  

Charleston.  S.  C  
Wheeling  W  Va   . 

Birmingham  Ala  
Knoxville  Tenn  

".8 
•4 

3-5 
2.7 
'  -4 
5-7 
.1 

Austin  Tex  

GROUP  V. — CITIES  IN  THE  UPPER  AND  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  AND  EAST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 


575,238 

6.9 

29.8 

8.1 

8.2 

62  5 

6  i 

6 

Minneapolis,  Minn  
Kansas  City,  Mo  
St  Joseph  Mo  

202,718 
163,752 

830,052  .  26 
612,450.35 

'3-4 
19.2 

55 
46.4 
56 

IO 

9-7 
6.5 

7 
5-9 

6.6 

5-6 

4 

5-4 

4'  S 

1.9 

2.  I 

41 

2.6 

2.4 
5-6 

8.5 

8-7 

5  8 

52,969 

7.7 

10.3 

8.2 

i  .7 

2.6 

6.4 

3-6 

4  6 

48.6 

7.2 

4 

4-6 

13.6 

3.6 

4.8 

Wichita  Kans  

31,560 

18.2 

8.3 

6-3 

16.5 

6.2 

3.6 

6 

i  6 

GROUP  VI. — CITIES  OF  THE  WESTERN  AND  PACIFIC  SLOPE  STATES 


San  Francisco  ,  Calif.  .  .  . 

342.782 

$1,381,398.51 
868  948.41 

7-8 

52-9 

10.3 
8  72 

3-8 
5  68 

1.2 

8  37 

•5 

•4 

1.6 

19.6 

Los  Angeles,  Calif  
Oakland  Calif  

102.479 

588,203.52 

8.6 

62.1 

94 

5.6 

5-3 

1.4 

1.9 

3-2 

2.2 

8  < 

56 

ii.  6 

36  848 

8  o 

8 

o  8 

Sacramento,  Calif  
Pueblo,  Colo  

29,282 
28,157 

l85.302.50 

5-5 

73 

7.2 

ii.  8 

4-2 

4-7 

1.6 

1.8 

I.I 

i-7 

2 
8-4 

21,500 

116  538.  76 

5.4 

62.6 

2-7 

6.2 

Colorado  Spgs.,  Colo.  . 
Ogden  Utah  

21,085 

174518-67 

o 

36 

il-3 

14.6 

4 

4 

2 

3 

6.8 

21.4 

30,768.28 

2.7 

•j 

6.8 

2.6 

2    6 

B.  SOME  OBSERVATIONS  ON  TABLES  I  AND  II. 
SUPERVISION 

What  should  be  a  fair  and  reasonable  apportionment  for  supervision? 
How  much  supervision  should  obtain  ?  The  data  indicate  that  the  extreme 
limits  in  expense  for  effective  supervision  lie  between  8  and  ii  per  cent,  of 
that  for  maintenance  and  operation.  Many  cities  are  lower  than  the  minimum 
and  perhaps  as  many  are  above  the  maximum. 

HIGH  SCHOOL  EXPENDITURES 

A  relatively  high  ratio  of  expense  is  noticeable  chiefly  in  the  following 
cities,  some  of  which  are  university  centers,  namely:  Madison,  Columbus, 
Lincoln,  Oakland,  Austin,  Boston  and  Minneapolis,  while  Kansas  City, 


22  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

Fitchburg,  Bangor,  Springfield,  111.,  Newport,  Poughkeepsie  and  Louisville 
maintain  a  correspondingly  high  ratio  without  the  added  incentive. 

In  one  respect  Kansas  City  occupies  a  unique  position  in  that  the  board 
of  education  controls  the  public  library  and  sustains  it  upon  the  same  basis 
as  the  public  schools.  No  special  tax  is  levied  for  the  support  and  mainte- 
nance of  the  public  library,  but  it  is  carried  on  as  a  department  of  the  city 
school  system,  designed  not  only  for  the  education  of  the  children,  but  as 
a  continuation  of  the  education  of  the  adult  population. 

A  cursory  examination  of  Table  I  further  reveals  many  variations  of 
excessive  expenditures,  some  of  which  should  be  mentioned  with  respect 
to  the  broader  subjects  of  levying,  collecting  and  apportioning  school  revenue 
each  year.  Wide  differences  exist  in  the  percentages  of  expenditures  for 
the  same  kind  of  service,  or  the  cost  of  fuel,  repairs,  or  "  miscellaneous 
expenses. "  Some  of  these  items  depend  upon  prices  perhaps  originally  agreed 
upon  as  a  fair  compensation  for  special  lines  of  service;  or,  as  in  the  case 
of  fuel,  on  climatic  or  other  conditions.  In  looking  over  the  entire  list  of 
cities,  the  last  item,  "miscellaneous,"  is  worthy  of  attention.  Of  the  large 
cities  in  the  first  and  second  groups,  St.  Louis  stands  charged  with  8.2  per 
cent.,  while  Philadelphia  has  8.4  per  cent,  and  Boston  1.55  per  cent.  In 
the  third  group,  San  Francisco  charged  herself  with  19.6  per  cent,  which 
appears  entirely  too  large  and  doubtless  includes  some  expenditures  that 
should  have  been  excluded;  or  it  was  an  exceptionally  heavy  expenditure 
for  that  year.  Providence,  charged  9.9  per  cent,  for  the  same  item,  while 
Newark  expended  $8.30  of  every  $100  for  the  same  purpose. 

In  cities  having  from  20,000  to  50,000  inhabitants,  Tacoma  is  credited 
with  9.7  per  cent,  for  "miscellaneous;"  Superior,  Wis.,  9.6  per  cent.;  Pough- 
keepsie, N.  Y.,  14.2  per  cent.;  Austin,  Texas,  21.3  per  cent.;  Lima,  Ohio, 
17.5  per  cent.;  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.,  with  21.4  per  cent.  Among  the 
cities  of  the  lowest  group,  the  highest  is  Burlington,  Vt.,  with  12.7  per  cent. 

The  most  reasonable  explanation  of  these  variations  lies  in  the  fact  that 
many  school  boards  defer  some  incidental  expenditures  until  the  very  last 
moment,  and  then  when  they  must  be  attended  to,  the  outlay  appears  out 
of  all  proportion. 

It  would  be  a  matter  of  public  interest  to  know  specifically  whether  reduc- 
tions in  other  departments  correspond  to  the  increased  cost  in  this  department, 
and  it  is  possible  that  the  miscellaneous  expense  one  year  is  very  different 
from  what  it  was  the  year  previous,  or  it  will  be  the  year  following,  in  the 
same  town  or  city. 

We  have  not  yet  reached  a  point  where  we  can  generalize  safely  relative 
to  the  comparative  items  of  high-school  teachers'  salaries,  elementary  teachers' 
salaries,  and  the  cost  of  supervision.  If  a  city  has  twelve  high  schools,  as 
has  Boston,  it  will  cost  more  proportionately  to  maintain  those  high  schools 
than  it  will  in  St.  Louis,  where  they  have  but  four.  There  is  a  substantial 
agreement,  however,  as  to  the  ratio  which  the  amount  of  money  paid  for 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


instruction  in  its  various  forms  bears  to  the  total  amount  expended  for  schools. 
From  70  to  74  per  cent,  seems  to  be  the  average  of  normally  situated  cities. 
The  difference  in  cost  of  fuel  alone  would  explain  considerable  of  the  difference 
in  the  ratio  between  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  of  78.5  per  cent,  and  Los  Angeles,  Calif., 
of  80.1  per  cent,  for  instruction.  It  will  be  observed  also,  that  there  is  a 
tendency  to  a  lower  ratio  of  expense  for  the  side  of  instruction  where  there 
are  demands  for  excellent  school  buildings,  and  where  the  schools  are  equipped 
with  appliances  that  teachers  think  necessary.  In  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  the 
ratio  of  expense  for  repairs  is  very  low,  1.4  per  cent.;  the  ratio  for  fuel  is 
also  very  low,  .4  per  cent.  These  two  items  fall  enough  below  the  ratio 
of  a  city  like  Waterbury,  Conn.,  to  explain  the  higher  standard  which  Fort 
Wayne  seems  to  bear  in  the  relative  amount  that  that  city  devotes  to  the 
side  of  instruction.  Again,  Fort  Wayne,  having  a  population  approximately 
the  same  as  Waterbury,  expends  $111,720  for  school  expenses  as  against 
$179,955,  expended  in  Waterbury.  The  entire  municipal  expenditure  of 
Waterbury,  however,  is  $60,000,  greater  than  that  of  Fort  Wayne.  We 
should  expect,  too,  to  find  in  a  city  like  Boston,  where  the  total  operating 
expense  of  the  city  was  $21,888,291,  and  a  city  like  St.  Louis,  that  is  larger 
than  Boston,  with  a  total  operating  expense  of  only  $8,715,000,  a  much  larger 
expenditure  for  school  purposes  in  Boston  than  in  St.  Louis.  Properly 
interpreted  this  means  that  the  standard  of  living  is  higher  in  Boston  than 
it  is  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  city  of  Boston  pays  more  for  the  comfort  and  well- 
being  of  its  inhabitants  than  the  city  of  St.  Louis  pays  for  its  inhabitants. 
An  investigation  of  the  comparative  cost  of  schools  in  the  period  prior  to 
1860  shows  that  in  Boston,  in  Cambridge,  in  Worcester,  in  Springfield,  in 
Manchester,  N.  H.,  and  in  Holyoke,  Mass.,  a  very  much  larger  proportion 
of  the  entire  city  expenditures  in  this  period  went  for  support  of  schools  than 
in  the  period  since  1860.  In  Springfield,  Mass.,  in  1850,  for  instance,  50 
per  cent  of  the  entire  municipal  expenditures  were  devoted  to  schools,  as 
against  30  per  cent,  in  1900.  In  the  city  of  Boston,  in  1800,  25  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  expenditures  went  for  schools,  and  about  the  same  proportion 
in  1826,  as  against  14  per  cent,  in  1900.  An  examination  of  the  records 
in  this  period  prior  to  1860  also  shows  that  a  much  larger  percentage  of  the 
money  devoted  to  the  support  of  schools  went  to  teachers'  salaries  than  in 
the  period  after  1860.  It  is  easy  to  understand  that  during  this  early  era 
the  cost  of  caring  for  schoolhouses,  the  cost  of  operating  heating  plants, 
the  cost  of  furnishing  books  and  supplies,  and  the  cost  of  administration, 
was  very  much  smaller.  As  a  matter  of  course,  then,  the  development  of 
these  demands  in  the  later  period,  left  a  smaller  increment  proportionately 
to  be  devoted  to  the  side  of  instruction.  Notwithstanding  the  advance  in 
teachers'  salaries,  a  much  smaller  proportion  of  the  total  school  expenditure 
is  expended  now  for  instruction  than  in  the  early  period.  This  much  seems 
certain  that,  notwithstanding  prevalent  opinion  to  the  contrary,  the  cost  of 
schools  during  the  last  forty  years  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  cost  of  admin- 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


istering  other  departments  of  the  municipality.  In  short,  the  schools, 
instead  of  being  inordinately  expensive,  have  been  compelled  to  give  up 
directly  and  indirectly  part  of  the  income,  belonging  to  them  in  order  that 
other  departments  of  the  city  government  may  be  properly  taken  care  of. 
This  is  not  necessarily  a  criticism  upon  the  other  departments  of  the  city  govern- 
ment. The  cost  of  living  measured  by  the  same  standards  as  obtained  prior 
to  1860  has  not  only  not  increased  but  has  greatly  decreased.  Our  standard 
of  living  is  so  very  much  higher  than  it  was  that  the  cost  of  that  higher  standard 
has  increased  very  greatly.  If,  however,  one  is  willing  to  live  in  a  house 
that  is  not  equipped  with  modern  conveniences,  rents  for  such  a  house  are 
no  higher,  if  as  high,  than  prior  to  1860.  It  has  been  estimated  by  competent 
authorities  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Era,  $100  would  pay  all 
the  expenses  incident  to  the  care  of  a  boy  from  birth  until  he  was  twenty- 
one.  At  the  present  time,  it  is  doubtful  whether  $2,500  is  a  large  enough  sum 
to  expend  for  such  purpose  in  the  standard  of  living  obtained  in  the  lower 
middle  class. 

TEXTBOOKS  AND  SUPPLIES 

The  following  table  indicates  the  experience  of  the  city  of  Omaha  so  far 
as  the  cost  of  textbooks  is  concerned,  which  seemingly  demonstrates  a  rising 
and  falling  of  expense  in  accordance  with  an  established  ratio: 


1890-91 

1891-92 

1892-93 

1893-94 

1894-95 

1895-96 

1896-9? 

Textbooks,  etc  

$6,i88.-;6 

$7,860.49 

$6.180.42 

$6,648.09 

1.845.80 

3  586  74 

14,095 

14,900 

15.334 

15  807 

16,999 

16,580 

1897-98 

1898-99 

1890-1900 

IQOO-OI 

IOOJ-O2 

1902-03 

1003-04 

Textbooks  etc  

$7,756.41 

$8  135.44 

$7  481.81 

4  834  28 

6  124.38 

18,271 

Part  of  the  inequality  in  expense  as  disclosed  by  different  cities  may  be 
explained  by  this  excessive  expense  ratio  for  1900  being  one  of  the  higher 
terms  of  the  ratio  rather  than  the  lower,  as  it  may  be  in  other  cities.  The 
item  of  2.2  per  cent,  for  the  city  of  Boston  represents  the  lowest  results  that 
can  probably  be  obtained  from  great  care  in  the  purchase  and  preservation 
of  books,  a  care  and  oversight  that  at  times  borders  on  parsimony.  Where 
the  rate  for  free  textbooks  rises  above  3.5  per  cent,  of  the  appropriation, 
it  is  believed  that  an  inspection  of  the  items  of  expense  will  show  that  the 
cost  of  furnishing  the  high-school  books  in  said  city  is  excessive.  This  cost 
is  certainly  excessive  where  high-school  attendance  of  5  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
population  is  credited  with  an  expenditure  for  textbooks  amounting  to  33$ 
per  cent,  of  the  entire  appropriation  for  textbooks.  The  appropriation 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  25 

for  supplies  indicates  also  great  variation.  It  is  believed  that  the  appropriation 
for  supplies  ought  not  to  exceed  60  per  cent,  of  the  appropriation  for  textbooks. 
In  some  cities,  however,  the  cost  of  furnishing  blank  paper  alone  to  the  pupils 
exceeds  in  amount  the  cost  of  furnishing  textbooks.  The  expense  in  the 
state  of  New  Hampshire  in  the  report  for  1902,  page  277,  is  interesting  in 
this  connection.  The  amount  expended  for  textbooks  is  $46,600;  for  supplies, 
$24,749,  and  the  total  expenditure  for  running  expenses  is  $1,080,000.  In 
1902,  the  expenses  for  textbooks  were  $49,684,  for  supplies  $27,360,  and 
the  total  expenditure  for  the  running  expenses  was  $1,070,000.  The  expendi- 
tures for  the  state  of  Vermont,  as  disclosed  by  the  itemized  statement  from 
.each  town,  as  published  in  the  annual  report  for  each  year,  bear  out  the 
same  ratio.  These  two  states  are  the  only  ones  which,  to  our  knowledge, 
separate  the  items  of  textbooks  and  supplies  both  in  detail  and  in  summary 
form. 

C.   THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SCHOOL  AFFAIRS 

Your  committee  believe  that  the  most  economical  way  of  administering 
school  affairs  so  as  not  to  impair  their  efficiency,  would  be  better  and  more 
plainly  stated,  "the  receipt  of  the  value  of  a  dollar  for  each  dollar  expended." 
School  administration  does  not  differ  from  the  administration  of  any  other 
enterprise  which  involves  expenditure.  The  directors  of  a  great  railway 
company  refrain  from  purchasing  equipment  that  adds  nothing  to  the  sub- 
stantial returns.  A  great  manufacturing  enterprise  makes  no  investment 
for  material,  except  the  material  be  necessary  for  the  prosperous  conduct 
of  the  institution;  neither  do  great  industrial  or  transportation  companies 
expend  great  sums  of  money  in  independent  or  in  judicious  experimentation. 
They  readily  permit  one  institution  of  the  kind  to  make  trials  of  inventions 
and  purchase  plants  for  new  projects,  and  wait  to  learn  the  result  from  the 
party  experimenting  before  increasing  their  own  respective  plants  and  invest- 
ments. In  the  school  world  we  find  continual  introductions  of  new  and 
novel  devices,  methods  and  modifications  in  courses  of  study  made  too  fre- 
quently, and  with  the  knowledge  at  the  start  that  only  an  experiment  is 
contemplated.  We  find  at  one  time,  new  and  expensive  equipment  along 
new  lines  purchased  by  school  boards  for  the  purpose  of  testing  a  new  and 
novel  scheme,  urged  to  the  outlay  by  expert  agents,  skillful  salesmen,  and 
bright  business  men,  when  such  action  by  one  body  would  be  sufficient  to 
determipe  the  probable  value  of  the  investment,  after  which  other  boards 
could  follow.  This  seems  to  be  the  practice  in  the  financial,  industrial, 
and  commercial  world,  but  unfortunately,  with  the  schoolmaster  professing 
personal  claim  to  originality,  insistence  upon  individual  trial  is  followed 
by  outlay  for  experiment.  An  even  greater  folly  than  unnecessary  expendi- 
ture accompanies  such  tests — the  trifling  with  the  educational  training  of 
hundreds  of  children  whose  rights  demand  that  few,  not  many,  be  used  to 
demonstrate  the  value  of  theories  which  may  be  practicable  or  impracticable. 


26  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

School  directors  will  do  well  to  apply  the  prudence  and  judgment  of  forces 
in  other  activities  of  the  world  to  school  administration,  and  thereby  assure 
economy  in  the  conduct  of  schools  and  not  sacrifice  efficiency. 

In  the  accompanying  report  can  be  read  figures  concerning  detailed 
expenditure  in  administration  of  schools  in  one  hundred  cities  in  the  United 
States,  as  a  study  of  the  tables  of  statistics  will  demonstrate.  In  a  group  of 
cities  of  about  the  same  population,  a  marked  difference  will  be  noticed  in 
the  money  spent.  For  illustration,  reference  to  five  cities  far  apart,  viz.: 
Toledo,  O.,  Allegheny,  Pa.,  Columbus,  O.,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  and  New  Haven, 
Conn.  These  cities,  it  will  be  noticed,  expended  for  schools  an  average 
of  $450,000  a  year. 

Nineteen  per  cent,  of  this  Columbus  gave  for  high-school  teachers'  salaries, 
while  Toledo  gave  8  per  cent,  and  Allegheny  5  per  cent,  for  the  same  purpose. 
That  is,  Columbus,  with  the  same  school  expenditure,  paid  its  high-school 
teachers  four  times  as  much  as  did  Allegheny  and  two  times  as  much  as 
did  Toledo. 

Allegheny  gave  45  per  cent,  for  its  elementary  teachers'  salaries  and 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.  58  per  cent.  Such  observations  from  these  tables  can  be 
made  almost  infinitely.  The  question  to  be  answered  with  regard  to  economi- 
cal expenditure  is,  are  the  high  schools  of  Columbus  so  much  better  than 
the  high  schools  of  Allegheny,  and  the  elementary  schools  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y., 
so  much  superior  to  the  elementary  schools  of  Columbus,  or  do  other  conditions 
account  for  the  difference?  To  extend  this  illustration  a  little  further,  the 
per  cent,  for  janitor  service  was :  Toledo,  3  per  cent. ;  Allegheny,  6  per  cent. ; 
Syracuse,  6  per  cent.;  New  Haven,  7  per  cent.;  Columbus,  10  per  cent. 
Query:  Is  the  janitor  service  of  Columbus  so  much  better  than  the  janitor 
service  in  other  cities,  if  so,  is  the  administration  economical — or  is  the  plant 
non-economical  ? 

It  should  be  understood  that,  for  a  comprehension  of  this  matter,  many 
local  interests  and  unusual  environments,  with  sometimes  an  extraordinary 
large  enrollment,  must  be  reckoned  with,  and  yet  in  a  general  way  the  mass 
of  figures  to  which  reference  is  made  in  this  report  gives  substantial  information 
with  regard  to  economical  administration.  The  superintendent  of 'schools, 
although  not  in  direct  control  of  expenditure,  ought  to  be  able,  with  his  hand 
on  the  lever,  to  exert  a  positive  influence  on  unnecessary  or  illy  considered 
expenditures.  It  is  not  easy  to  comprehend  how  money  in  each  of  the  follow- 
ing cases  is  economically  spent  for  janitor  service:  Reading,  Pa.,  with  an 
annual  expenditure  for  schools  of  $219,000  gives  its  janitors  10  per  cent,  of 
that  amount;  Toledo,  3  per  cent.;  Richmond,  Ind.,  5  per  cent.;  Omaha, 
Neb.,  9  per  cent.;  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Columbia,  N.  C.,  and  Atlanta,  Ga., 
3  per  cent.  Much  greater  differences  will  be  noticed  in  expenditure  for 
school  supplies,  which  item  is  necessarily  largely  in  control  of  the  superin- 
tendents. Is  it  likely  that  modifications  of  environments  or  local  conditions 
can  satisfactorily  account  for  this  material  difference  in  expenditures  ? 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  27 

A  spirit  exists  with  the  boards  in  many  cities,  in  making  repairs  for  schools, 
to  confine  the  patronage  to  the  town's  tradesmen  and  craftsmen  rather  than 
to  accept  work  from  other  places.  However  laudable  such  a  practice  may 
seem  to  the  immediate  actors,  little  defense  can  be  made  for  such  action. 
Any  public  body  that  pays  from  the  public  purse  greater  prices  for  work 
or  material  in  order  that  their  immediate  community  may  have  business, 
interferes  with  the  economical  administration  of  schools  under  its  direction. 
Under  such  a  policy,  the  Federal  Government  would  permit  public  buildings 
in  a  given  city  to  be  constructed  only  by  residents  and  taxpayers  of  that  city. 

Only  a  general  statement  with  regard  to  the  subject  in  hand  will  answer 
the  purpose,  viz. :  Only  when  a  school  board  administrates  its  financial  affairs 
along  the  same  lines  and  with  the  same  business  acumen  that  the  prosperous 
business  firm  or  corporation  does,  will  the  administration  of  the  schools  be 
most  economically  administered.  The  statistics  presented  on  other  pages 
of  this  report  give  an  unprecedented  opportunity  for  boards  of  education  and 
superintendents  to  correct  financial  errors  of  administration  in  the  light  of 
the  experience  of  cities  similarly  situated  throughout  the  country. 

We  are  asked  to  notice  what  returns  the  people  receive  from  the  expendi- 
tures for  schools. 

First,  the  returns  from  having  an  intelligent  community.  This  return 
alone  is  ample  for  the  expenditure,  because  of  the  composition  and  conduct 
of  our  government  and  the  almost  unlimited  right  of  the  ballot.  The  well- 
informed  man  needs  no  essay  or  volume  to  persuade  him  of  the  value  of 
.cultured  citizenship,  and  that  the  safety  and  perpetuity  of  the  American 
government  rests  solely  on  an  intelligent  ballot;  only  by  the  hands  of  a  well- 
informed  citizen,  can  the  ballot  be  deposited. 

In  this  money-getting  age,  where  one  with  difficulty  leads  his.  neighbor 
to  though tfulness  upon  public  expenditure,  one  most  often  meets  with  what 
we  have  learned  to  call  the  commercial  spirit,  that  spirit  whereby  men  measure 
effort  by  the  dollars  accumulated.  With  this  thought  in  mind,  the  material 
for  meeting  this  class  of  men  has  been  placed  in  our  hands  by  the  board  of 
education  of  Massachusetts. 

The  late  Secretary  Frank  A.  Hill  of  the  Massachusetts  board  of  education 
has  recently  put  forth  a  unique  argument  based  upon  a  former  report  by 
Commissioner  Wm.  T.  Harris,  for  the  money  value  of  the  public  schools 
of  that  commonwealth.  He  says: 

Each  child  in  Massachusetts  receives  an  average  of  seven  years'  schooling,  while 
each  child  in  the  United  States  at  large  receives  only  4 . 3  years'  schooling.  The  average 
earning  power  of  each  person  in  Massachusetts  is  79  cents  a  day,  while  for  the  country 
at  large,  it  is  only  40  cents.  The  ratio  is  79  to  40,  the  excess  being  39  cents  per  capita. 
It  is  to  be  noticed  that  this  result  has  been  reached  by  the  independent  calculations  both 
of  Dr.  Harris,  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  and  of  Mr.  Wadlin,  former 
chief  of  the  Massachusetts  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  Mr.  Hill  points  out  that  this  daily 
wealth-producing  power  of  39  cents  per  capita  in  excess  of  the  average  in  the  nation, 
means  $100  a  year  per  capita,  and  $275,000,000  a  year  more  than  it  would  yield  if  the 


28  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

per  capita  production  of  the  state  were  no  greater  than  the  average  throughout  the  country. 
This  is  twenty-three  times  the  annual  expense  for  support  and  buildings.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  attribute  to  the  schools  this  vast  excess  of  production  above  the  average  for  the 
country  to  prove  that  they  pay  enormous  material  dividends.  If  so  humble  a  fraction 
as  a  fifth  or  even  a  tenth  part  of  this  excess  can  be  traced  to  schools,  they  are  yet  invest- 
ments that  each  year  return  to  the  state  much  more  than  their  annual  cost.  In  this  con- 
nection it  will  be  found  that  while  Massachusetts  portrays  such  a  noticeably  large  earning 
power  for  each  person,  that  the  school  expenditures  always  bear  a  close  relation  to  the 
local  earning  power.  A  careful  consideration  of  the  table  prepared  by  the  Commissioner 
of  Education,  may  be  profitably  studied  in  connection  with  the  Massachusetts  report. 

Second,  referring  to  the  table  showing  the  percentage  of  the  entire  munici- 
pal expenses  allowed  to  public  schools,  the  reader  will  find  among  the  highest : 
Chicago,  36.85  per  cent.;  Indianapolis,  32.73  per  cent.;  Denver,  35.93 
per  cent.;  Los  Angeles,  33.76  per  cent.;  Scranton,  41.37  per  cent.;  Dayton, 
33-77  Per  cent.;  Oakland,  40.89  per  cent.;  Salt  Lake  City,  33.40  per  cent.; 
Harrisburg,  33.20  per  cent.  All  of  these  with  fifteen  more,  gave  out  of  the 
entire  municipal  budget  more  than  30  per  cent,  thereof  to  schools.  And 
yet,  no  intelligent  observer  dare  conclude  that  this  great  difference  in  relative 
expenditure  is  indicative  of  the  character  of  the  school. 

The  reputation  of  the  schools  of  Oakland,  Calif.,  that  takes  40  per  cent, 
of  the  operating  expenses  for  the  schools  of  the  city,  is  high.  What  shall 
be  said  of  Boston,  where  the  40  per  cent,  is  changed  to  14  per  cent.  Here 
are  presented  the  extremes  in  relative  taxation  for  schools  with  no  correspond- 
ing accounting  for  the  output. 

When  one  reads  that  the  entire  13.8  per  cent,  in  Boston  and  17.5  per 
cent,  in  St.  Louis  of  the  total  municipal  expenditures  is  spent  for  the  school 
department,  additional  information  is  required  for  an  intelligent  understand- 
ing. We  must  also  notice,  in  Table  III,  that  the  expenditure  for  schools 
in  Boston  was  $3,043,640,  and  in  St.  Louis  $1,536,140,  while  the  total  city 
operating  expenses  for  Boston  was  $21,898,291,  and  in  St.  Louis  it  was 
$8,715,821.  While  the  school  expenses  of  Boston  were  double  that  of  St. 
Louis,  the  entire  municipal  expense  in  Boston  was  three  times  that  of  St.  Louis, 
which  means  that  the  standard  of  school  expense  in  Boston  bears  a  relation 
to  the  increased  standard  of  living  in  Boston,  as  compared  with  St.  Louis, 
evidenced  by  the  demands  upon  the  municipality  for  outlays  not  demanded 
to  the  same  extent  in  St.  Louis. 

The  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  in  a  letter  to  the  com- 
mittee effectively  summarizes  the  condition  as  follows: 

Fit  st.  That  a  city  like  Boston,  with  such  an  enormous  amount  of  taxable  property 
can  furnish  a  much  larger  amount  of  money  for  schools  per  capita  than  a  city  on  the 
borderland,  that  has,  as  yet,  accumulated  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  taxable  property. 

Second.  It  is  obvious  also,  that  a  community  which  has  a  comparatively  small  earning 
per  inhabitant  cannot  afford  to  supply  itself  so  liberally  with  schools  as  a  city  which  pays 
high  wages  to  its  people. 

Third.  It  is  obvious  that  in  spite  of  drawbacks  of  small  taxable  property  and  small 
wages,  that  a  community  having  the  average  conviction  of  the  people  conscientiously 
in  favor  of  education  at  whatever  sacrifice,  will  tax  itself  very  high  rates  in  order  to  insure 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  29 

schooling,  while  another  community,  with  a  lower  standard  of  conviction  in  regard  to 
the  importance  of  education,  will  be  content  with  a  small  rate  of  taxation  for  this  purpose. 

The  different  schemes  of  taxation  in  the  Union,  made  up  as  they  are 
of  such  far-differing  laws,  histories,  and  environments,  make  it  necessary 
at  present  for  each  community  to  work  out  and  execute  its  own  method. 
Yet  the  total  school  expenses  for  the  free  public  education,  great  as  the  sum 
seems  to  be,  is  found  upon  analysis  to  be  most  unreasonably  small  as  com- 
pared with  the  per  capita  dfebt  of  England  and  France,  and  surely  must  and 
will  be  increased  at  least  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in  all  other  lines  of 
American  society. 

D.   SUMMARY 

Your  committee  believes  that  the  authoritative  power  for  levying  taxes 
for  the  support  of  schools  should  rest  in  the  immediate  directory  of  the  schools, 
whether  such  boards  are  elected  by  the  people  or  appointed  by  mayors  or 
courts.  They,  however,  urge  the  importance  of  definite  statutory  limits 
upon  the  amount  of  school  tax  levied,  and  that  two  distinct  funds  be  created — 
one  for  the  current  expenses  and  the  other  for  permanent  building  improve- 
ments; further  that  the  power  of  contracting  debts  for  the  school  department 
be  vested  only  in  the  people. 

Instruction,  Teachers'  Salaries,  and  Supervision.  —  Your  committee 
believes  that  so  far  as  the  cost  of  instruction  is  concerned,  as  shown  by 
the  data  furnished,  that  the  management  of  school  systems  should  consider 
carefully  the  question  of  the  number  of  teachers  necessary  to  do  the  work 
efficiently  and  thoroughly;  the  number  of  special  teachers  and  the  char- 
acter and  quality  of  the  work  performed;  the  efficiency  and  economy  of 
the  plant,  i.  e.,  the  location  and  size  of  school  buildings  in  so  far  as  these 
questions  pertain  to  the  school  expense,  included  under  the  head  of  instruc- 
tion; the  number  of  high  schools;  the  kind  of  high  schools;  the  courses  of 
study  in  such  high  schools,  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  relative  cost 
to  the  municipality,  and  also  as  to  whether  in  the  evolution  of  any  particular 
school  system,  that  the  stage  for  this  or  that  development  has  been  reached. 
Interviews  with  most  efficient  and  competent  teachers  who  are  engaged 
in  primary  and  grammar-school  work,  confirm  the  opinion  of  your  committee 
that  not  less  than  thirty-five  pupils  nor  more  than  forty-five  pupils  should 
be  assigned  to  any  one  teacher.  If  the  number  of  pupils  to  a  teacher  in  any 
school  system  falls  below  the  number  of  pupils  on  the  average  who  can  be 
efficiently  and  effectively  taught,  the  result  will  be  to  increase  the  number 
of  teachers  who  participate  in  the  distribution  of  the  wage  fund,  and  thus 
inevitably  decrease  the  amount  of  the  wage  fund  that  each  teacher  will  receive. 
It  is  believed  too,  that  this  unnecessary  increase  in  the  number  of  teachers, 
while  operating  to  reduce  teachers'  salaries,  also  operates  by  a  well-known 
law  in  the  direction  of  decreasing  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching  body  in  such 
a  system. 


30  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

The  so-called  special  teachers  or  supervisors  of  studies  like  music,  drawing, 
calisthenics,  manual  training,  sewing,  domestic  science,  kindergarten,  etc., 
are  justifiable  solely  because  the  teachers  in  charge  of  the  regular  classes 
in  the  elementary  schools  have  not  yet  been  able  to  acquire  the  technical 
knowledge  necessary  to  teach  these  branches  of  study  which  have  come  into 
the  schools  comparatively  recently.  Therefore  these  special  teachers  or 
supervisors  who  are  assistants  to  the  superintendent  in  charge  of  this  special 
work  should  expend  their  energies  in  teaching  the  teachers  and  not  in  teach- 
ing the  pupils.  No  school  system  is  rich  enough  to  employ  enough  of  these 
special  teachers  to  teach  all  the  pupils.  Attention  to  this  principle  will  often 
save  the  schools  much  unnecessary  expense.  An  investment  in  efficient 
supervision  is  the  best  that  can  be  made  in  school  or  other  enterprises,  for 
it  brings  adequate  returns-.  Supervision  groups  itself  under  the  head  of 
principals  and  assistant  superintendents,  special  supervisors  and  superin- 
tendents. Too  many  principals  in  a  school  system,  caused  by  too  many  small 
school  buildings  or  faulty  departmental  organization,  is  a  prolific  cause  of  non- 
economic  management.  Schools  having  fewer  teachers  than  eight  do  not 
need  the  services  of  a  principal  who  devotes  all  his  time  to  supervision,  and 
the  number  of  teachers  whom  a  competent  principal  can  help  by  supervision 
is  nearer  forty  than  twenty.  Your  committee  are  not  prepared  to  express 
an  opinion  upon  the  question  of  how  many  assistant  superintendents  can 
be  well  and  efficiently  utilized  in  a  school  system,  because  the  answer  to  this 
question  depends  upon  the  personal  equation,  as  weU  as  upon  the  size  of 
the  school  system. 

Janitors. — In  reading  the  statistics  relating  to  the  relative  cost  of  jani- 
tor service,  some  of  the  variation  can  be  accounted  for  when  it  is  under- 
stood that  the  rent,  light,  and  heat  are  furnished  in  some  cases  by  the  board 
of  education.  Again,  the  kind  of  service  rendered  by  janitors  in  different 
cities  is  a  factor  in  this  consideration  that  should  receive  attention.  A  trip 
of  inspection  through  the  country  will  demonstrate  that  janitor  service  varies 
materially;  that  clean  and  healthful  schoolhouses  is  the  uniform  custom 
in  some  jurisdictions,  while  in  others  dirt  and  even  filth  accumulated  in 
basements  and  in  dark  corners  are  serious  reflections  upon  the  efficiency 
of  the  janitor  service.  In  the  printed  rules  and  regulations  of  boards  of  educa- 
tion, one  can  read  that  the  school-room  floors  in  a  given  city  must  be  washed 
once  a  year,  while  in  another  one  reads  that  the  school-room  floors  and  halls 
must  be  washed  once  a  month. 

Fuel. — In  comparing  the  expense  for  fuel  in  the  several  cities,  valuable 
information  can  be  obtained.  The  parallel  of  latitude  upon  which  the  city  is 
located  and  the  climatic  conditions  together  with  the  character  of  the  heating 
plant,  as  a  matter  of  course,  vary  according  to  location,  and  if  one  reads  that 
a  northern  town  in  Vermont  costs  the  most  to  heat  its  schoolhouses,  and  a 
town  south  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line  costs  less,  the  reasons  are  evident. 
Then  in  cities  on  the  same  parallel,  the  cost  of  transportation  from  coal 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  31 

mines  and  the  ruling  price  of  coal  has  to  do  with  the  fuel  expense,  and  in 
given  years  like  that  of  the  great  coal  strike  in  Pennsylvania,  when  one  town 
at  least  brought  its  coal  from  a  foreign  country,  the  variation  is  marked. 

Repairs. — Your  committee  find,  on  inspecting  the  reports  on  repairs,  that 
not  always  is  a  distinction  made  between  repairs  of  worn-out  material  and 
repairs  for  permanent  improvements.  In  some  cases  a  small  addition  to  a 
house  or  the  erection  of  new  outbuildings  are  designated  as  repairs,  when  in 
truth  they  are  permanent  improvements  and  should  be  designated  as  such. 
Again,  circumstances  sometimes  compel  the  postponement  of  needed  repairs 
from  one  year  to  another,  until  extraordinary  expense  is  brought  about  at  one 
time,  and  it  may  be  at  the  very  time  when  these  reports  were  made.  The 
most  nearly  true  statement  of  the  necessary  repairs  for  a  given  corporation 
should  be  made  by  averaging  the  amount  expended  for  a  series  of  ten  years, 
rather  than  pronouncing  the  amount  expended  for  repairs  for  any  one  year. 

Miscellaneous. — The  term  "miscellaneous"  at  the  head  of  any  column  of 
an  accountant's  statistical  table  is  a  title  which  includes  every  item  for  which 
the  compiler  finds  no  other  place.  It  is  a  conglomeration  of  all  expenditures 
for  which  the  compiler  has  found  no  definite  column.  From  this  it  follows 
that  upon  the  individual  who  prepares  the  report  depends  the  sort  of  material 
included  in  "miscellaneous,"  and  with  many  officials  it  is  the  dumping-ground 
for  expenditures  which  the  compiler  does  not  care  to  carry  to  a  complete 
analysis,  and  so  to  the  reader  the  item  "miscellaneous"  in  a  statistical  table 
of  expense  fails  to  convey  an  intelligent  notion  of  the  various  expenditures. 
In  one  case,  insurance,  legal  fees,  and  even  school  furniture,  are  extended  in 
the  miscellaneous  column.  It  would  be  helpful  to  all  if  a  more  complete 
analysis  of  school  expenditures  could  be  presented,  but  an  unwillingness  or 
inability  of  the  clerks  of  boards  of  education  to  separate  under  appropriate 
heads  the  items  of  expense  causes  the  one  great  receptacle  under  the  title  of 
"miscellaneous"  to  be,  when  presented,  of  doubtful  as  well  as  difficult  com- 
prehension. 


METHODS  OF  SCHOOL  TAXATION  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 

BY  WILLIAM  H.    MAXWELL,    SUPERINTENDENT   OF   SCHOOLS,    CITY   OF 

NEW   YORK 

Money  for  school  purposes  in  New  York  city  is  raised  or  can  be  raised  in 
eight  different  legal  ways,  though  in  actual  practice  but  four  of  these  methods 
are  employed.  Under  a  broad  definition  there  is,  of  course,  but  one  real  source 
of  revenue — taxation  of  real  and  personal  property,  in  which  is  included  revenue 
from  the  sale  of  licensed  privileges.  In  whatever  way  the  New  York  city 
school  moneys  are  obtained,  however,  they  can  be  expended  only  through 
the  following  funds: 

(a)  The  general  school  fund. — This  is  defined  by  the  New  York  charter 
(Sec.  1060)  as  follows:  "The  general  fund  shall  consist  of  all  moneys  raised 


32  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

for  the  payment  of  salaries  of  the  city  superintendent,  associate  city  superin- 
tendents, members  of  the  board  of  examiners,  attendance  officers,  lecturers, 

and  all  members  of  the  supervising  and  teaching  staff " 

(6)  The  special  school  jund. — This  is  defined  by  the  charter  in  these  terms : 
"The  special  school  fund  shall  contain  and  embrace  all  moneys  raised  for 
educational  purposes  not  comprised  in  the  general  fund."  By  this  is  meant, 
however,  moneys  raised  for  the  maintenance  of  the  schools  during  the  calendar 
year.  The  special  fund  includes  such  items  as  salaries  of  clerks  and  employes, 
wages  of  janitors,  supplies,  repairs,  fuel,  rents,  etc.  The  special  fund  may  be 
defined  roughly  as  being  that  fund  which  provides  for  the  physical  side  of  the 
system  and  those  charged  with  the  care  and  development  of  the  schools  on 
the  physical  side.  The  general  fund,  in  contrast  to  this,  provides  the  salaries 
of  those  charged  with  the  development  of  the  scholastic  or  non-material  side 
of  the  school  system. 

(c)  The  bond  account. — From  this  source  must  come  all  moneys  for  the 
purchase  of  school  property  and  the  erection  and  equipment  of  new  school 
buildings.     This  fund,  which  is  not  spent  for  school  maintenance  but  is  used 
to  extend  the  public  plant,  is  not  considered  a  part  of  the  special  fund.    It  is 
looked  upon  and  managed  as  a  distinct  fund. 

(d)  The  teachers'  retirement  fund. — This  fund,  as  its  designation  implies, 
provides  for  the  payment  of  annuities  to  retired  teachers.     This  is  a  separate 
account  and  is  not  grouped  with  either  of  the  maintenance  funds. 

Two  of  these  funds — the  Bond  Account  and  the  Retirement  Fund — can 
be  raised,  as  far  as  taxation  is  concerned,  each  in  only  one  way.  Tjie  moneys 
for  the  general  fund  and  the  special  fund  come  from  various  sources  and  must 
be  raised  in  accordance  with  certain  legal  restrictions.  This  is  true  particularly 
of  the  general  fund  or  money  for  the  payment  of  scholastic  salaries.  The 
several  elements  which  contribute  toward  making  up  the  general  fund  or  toward 
limiting  its  determination  are  as  follows : 

THE   GENERAL  FUND 

1.  The  charter  (sec.  1064)  prescribes  that  the  general  fund  may  not  be 
less  than  the  equivalent  of  three  mills  on  every  dollar  of  assessed  valuation 
of  real  and  personal  property  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

2.  The  charter  (sec.  1091)  further  prescribes  that  the  general  iund  may 
not  be  less  than  the  amount  sufficient  to  pay  the  minimum  salary  schedule 
for  principals  and  teachers  which  by  act  of  legislature  is  a  state  law.     Ordi- 
narily the  amount  required  to  meet  the  salaries  ordered  paid  by  law  is  less 
than  the  sum  afforded  by  the  three-mill  tax.     This  element,  therefore,  does 
not  figure   commonly  as  a   determining  factor  in  raising  school  moneys. 
Should  the  3 -mill  fund,  however,  prove  inadequate  to  pay  these  minimum 
salaries  this  salary  schedule  section,  commonly  known  as  the  "Davis  Law," 
then  becomes  binding. 

3.  While  sections  1064  and  1091  of  the  charter  prescribe  the  least  amount 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  33 

which  can  be  raised  for  the  general  fund,  there  is  no  provision  which  prohibits 
the  granting  of  any  sum  beyond  these  minima.  In  fact  the  board  of  estimate 
and  apportionment,  with  the  sanction  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  may  allow 
as  much  money  as  they  like  provided  the  sum  be  not  less  than  was  required 
by  the  two  mandatory  sections.  The  question  of  allowing  more  money  than 
is  necessary  to  provide  these  minima  is  left  entirely  to  the  board  of  estimate 
as  the  board  of  aldermen  has  only  the  power  to  approve  or  to  reduce  the  amount 
allowed  by  the  estimate  board.  The  board  of  aldermen  may  not  increase  an 
appropriation. 

4.  To  this  general  fund  the  state  also  contributes.     The  state  allows  the 
sum  of  $100  for  every  trained  teacher  employed  180  days  during  the  school 
year.     This  is  in  the  nature  of  a  refund  to  the  city  of  taxes  paid  to  the  state. 
This  state  fund  is  not  treated  as  a  separate  fund,  but  is  held  to  be  included 
in  the  amounts  allowed  for  the  general  fund  by  the  city  officers.     The  state 
fund,  therefore,  is  paid  over  to  the  city  chamberlain  and  applied  by  him  to 
reduce  taxation. 

5.  The  general  fund  may  receive  support  also  from  another  source,  namely, 
the  sale  of  revenue  bonds.     These  bonds  may  be  sold  only  after  the  enactment 
of  a  law  permitting  their  sale.     This  is  looked  upon  entirely  as  an  emergency 
procedure — one  which  is  invoked  only  to  meet  unexpected  deficiencies  or  to 
put  into  operation  new  laws  necessitating  expenditure.     Revenue  bonds  are  not 
sold  to  provide  regular  school  funds. 

THE   SPECIAL   SCHOOL   FUND 

The  special  school  fund  is  made  up  of  moneys  which  are  obtained  ordi- 
narily in  three  ways  but  which  may  come  in  part  also  from  a  fourth  source. 
The  elements  contributing  to  the  special  fund  are: 

1.  The  moneys  allowed  for  the  special  fund  by  the  board  of  estimate  and 
apportionment  and  the  board  of  aldermen.     The  board  of  estimate  in  making 
an  allowance  for  the  special  fund  is  unhindered  by  any  law,  and  may  grant 
as  little  as  it  sees  fit. 

2.  The  moneys  contributed  by  the  board  of  regents  of  the  state.     These 
moneys  are  known  as  regents'  funds.     They  are  allowed  by  the  state  to  high 
schools  for  the  purchase  of  books,  apparatus,  and  supplies.     The  number  of 
pupils  is  the  basis  for  determining  the  distributive  quota. 

3.  Funds  from  the  state  library  money.     These  funds  consist  of  moneys 
allowed  by  the  state  to  the  city  for  school  libraries.     Within  certain  fixed 
limits  the  state  duplicates  any  sum  raised  by  the  city  for  such  a  purpose. 

4.  Sums  from  the  sale  of  revenue  bonds.     This  method  of  providing  money 
for  the  special  fund  is,  as  is  the  case  with  the  general  fund,  employed  only  as 
an  emergency  measure.     It  requires  the  enactment  of  a  special  law  for  each 
sale  of  bonds. 


34  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

THE   BOND   ACCOUNT 

The  funds  for  the  purchase  of  sites  and  the  erection  and  equipment  of  new 
school  buildings  come,  as  has  been  stated,  from  one  source  only — the  sale  of 
city  stock  authorized  by  law  and  sanctioned  by  the  board  of  estimate  and 
apportionment  or  by  that  body  with  the  approval  of  the  board  of  aldermen. 

THE   RETIREMENT   FUND 

The  retirement  fund,  as  far  as  direct  taxation  is  concerned,  draws  its 
income  from  one  source,  viz.,  the  requirement  of  section  1092  of  the  charter 
that  5  per  cent,  of  all  excise  moneys  collected  from  the  sale  of  liquor  shall  be 
devoted  each  year  to  this  purpose.  The  fund,  however,  receives  revenue  also 
from  fines  imposed  upon  teachers  and  principals  for  unexcused  absence.  It 
may  be  augmented  also  by  gifts  or  legacies  or  in  other  ways  determined  upon 
by  the  board  of  education.  During  the  Spring  of  1905  the  state  legislature 
passed  a  bill  providing  that  each  teacher  should  contribute  one  per  centum 
of  his  salary  to  the  retirement  fund.  At  the  present  writing  this  measure 
awaits  the  sanction  of  the  governor. 

In  spite  of  the  several  methods  of  raising  moneys  described  above,  in 
reality  all  school  funds  with  the  exception  of  emergency  revenue  bonds  are 
considered  as  coming  under  these  two  classifications : 

1.  Funds  for  school  maintenance. 

2.  Funds  for  extension  of  school  plant;  the  purchase  of  sites,  and  the  erec- 
tion of  buildings. 

Funds  for  maintenance  are  included  in  the  yearly  budget.  Funds  for 
extension  of  plant  come  from  the  bond  account  and  do  not  figure  in  the  annual 
budget  nor  come  directly  from  the  yearly  tax  levy. 

THE    BUDGET 

The  annual  budget  which  provides  the  funds  for  school  maintenance  but 
does  not  contribute  to  extension  of  plant,  except  that  it  may  provide  for  interest 
on  the  bonds,  is  made  up  as  follows: 

The  board  of  education  on  or  before  September  15  is  required  by  law 
(charter,  sec.  1064)  to  submit  to  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment  an 
estimate  in  detail  of  the  moneys  needed  for  the  entire  school  system  during 
the  succeeding  calendar  year.  This  budget  is  prepared  under  two  major 
headings — "general  fund"  and  "special  fund."  The  items  under  each  of 
these  headings  show  the  amounts  required  for  each  of  the  five  boroughs  of 
the  city  and  for  the  board  of  education's  administrative  expenses  proper. 
The  several  items  which  appear  under  the  two  headings  are  as  follows: 

GENERAL  FUND 

For  salaries  of  teachers,  et.  al.,  of  schools  at  this  time  in  operation. 

For  bonus  for  teaching  boys'  or  mixed  classes. 

For  substitute  teachers. 

For  additional  regular  teachers  throughout  the  city. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  35 

For  additional  teachers  of  special  branches. 
For  evening  schools. 
For  lecturers'  fees. 

For  vacation  schools  and  playgrounds,  evening  recreation  centers,  evening  roof  play- 
grounds, etc. 

For  corporate  schools. 

For  general  supervision,  including  Board  of  Examiners. 

For  district  superintendents. 

For  attendance  officers. 

SPECIAL  FUND 

Supplies. 

School  libraries. 

Libraries  and  apparatus — Regents'  schools. 

General  repairs  (Budget  A). 

Furniture,  and  repairs  of. 

Pianos,  and  repairs  of. 

Fire  alarms. 

Transportation. 

Fuel. 

Lighting  (transferred  to  another  department) 

Incidental  expenses. 

Rents. 

Salaries  of  janitors,  et  al. 

Salaries  of  officers,  clerks  and  other  employes. 

Lectures. 

Compulsory  education. 

Water. 

Support  of  nautical  school. 

Heat,  light  and  power  for  the  hall  of  the  board  of  education. 

Insurance. 

Recreation  in  public  school  buildings. 

When  the  board  of  education  has  reached  its  conclusions,  its  departmental 
estimate  or  budget — commonly  a  work  of  seven  hundred  closely-printed  pages 
— is  forwarded  to  the  board  of  estimate,  which  takes  the  request  for  funds 
under  consideration.  The  educational  estimate  is  incorporated  with  the  esti- 
mate of  the  several  other  departments  in  the  general  city  budget.  The  work 
of  pruning  the  demands  then  begins  in  earnest.  As  has  been  stated  before, 
however,  the  board  of  estimate,  in  dealing  with  the  general  school  fund,  is 
powerless  to  cut  it  either  below  a  three-mill  tax  or  below  a  sum  sufficient  to 
pay  the  mandatory  salaries.  It  may  cut  the  general  fund  therefore  down  to 
this  minimum  and  no  lower.  It  is  of  course  free  to  grant  more  than  the  mini- 
mum requirement.  The  special  fund,  as  has  been  noted,  is  not  so  protected, 
and  the  board  of  estimate  is  entirely  free  to  allow  as  little  or  as  much  as  it  pleases 
for  the  physical  side  of  the  schools — supplies,  fuel,  repairs,  etc.  The  board 
of  estimate,  which  has  this  power,  consists  of  the  mayor,  the  comptroller,  the 
president  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  and  the  presidents  of  the  five  boroughs. 
In  voting,  the  mayor,  comptroller,  and  president  of  the  board  of  aldermen 
have  each  three  votes;  the  presidents  of  the  boroughs  of  Manhattan  and 


36  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

Brooklyn  have  two  votes  each;  and  the  three  other  borough  presidents  one 
vote  each. 

When  the  board  of  estimate  has  reached  a  determination,  it  reports  its 
findings  to  the  board  of  aldermen.  This  body  may  approve  the  report  of  the 
board  of  estimate  or  may,  with  the  exception  that  the  general  school  fund 
must  be  left  at  least  at  the  required  minimum  sum,  reduce  the  allotment. 
The  aldermen  have  no  power  to  increase  an  allowance.  Any  reduction  in 
the  budget  by  the  aldermen  is  subject  to  the  veto  of  the  mayor,  but  may  be 
be  passed  over  this  veto  by  a  three-fourths  vote.  If  the  veto  be  not  over-ridden, 
the  amounts  allowed  by  the  board  of  estimate  stand.  The  board  of  alder- 
men is  required  to  act  on  the  budget  within  a  specific  number  of  days.  In 
default  of  such  action  within  the  specified  time,  twenty  days,  the  budget  is 
deemed  legally  adopted. 

BOND  ISSUES 

All  money  for  the  purchase  of  property  and  the  erection  and  equipment 
of  new  school  buildings,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  comes  from  the  sale  of  city 
bonds,  which  are  not  to  be  confused  with  the  short-term  emergency  revenue 
bonds.  The  city  bonds  are  the  long-term  interest-bearing  municipal  stock. 
The  conditions  under  which  this  is  done  are  as  follows: 

In  the  first  place,  no  bonds  may  be  issued  in  excess  of  10  per  cent,  of  the 
city's  total  tax  valuation.  This  10  per  cent,  maximum  is  called  also  the  debt 
limit;  the  city  is  powerless  to  increase  obligations  beyond  such  a  point.  If 
the  debt  limit  be  reached  the  board  of  education  of  course  would  find  it  useless 
to  ask  for  bond  issues. 

If,  however,  the  city  has  not  reached  its  debt-incurring  limit,  the  board  of 
education's  request  for  bonds  would  go  thru  a  regular  course.  It  would 
be  transmitted  first  to  the  board  of  estimate  and  this  body  has  power  of  itself 
to  issue  in  one  year  not  more  than  $3,500,0x30  for  schoolhouses.  If,  however, 
more  than  $3,500,000  are  required  in  one  year,  the  board  of  estimate  considers 
the  request  in  excess  of  that  sum  just  as  it  acted  upon  the  budget.  Its  deter- 
mination is  then  forwarded  to  the  board  of  aldermen.  This  body  must  act 
within  six  weeks  on  a'bond  issue.  If  the  board  of  aldermen  fail  to  act  within 
that  time,  the  issue  is  considered  passed  and  goes  to  the  mayor  for  his  approval 
or  veto.  The  mayor's  veto  is  subject  to  review  by  the  board  of  aldermen. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  under  this  system,  the  city  officers  allowed  for 
school  property  in  1902,  $8,000,000,  and  in  1903,  $9,788,430.  These  bonds 
are  redeemed  like  the  stock  of  any  other  municipality. 

It  will  be  seen  after  a  careful  consideration  of  these  several  methods  of 
providing  money  for  the  maintenance  and  extension  of  the  school  system, 
that  a  series  of  checks  through  the  action  of  several  different  bodies  on  each 
allowance  is  interposed  between  the  asking  and  the  levying  of  school  taxes. 
In  general  the  board  of  estimate  and  the  board  of  aldermen,  the  people's 
elected  representatives,  determine  this  matter.  There  is,  however,  one  excep- 
tion— that  is  in  the  raising  of  moneys  for  the  payment  of  educational  salaries. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  37 

For  this  purpose  the  law  prescribes  certain  minima  which  guarantee  the  pay- 
ment of  not  less  than  certain  salaries  and  provide  for  certain  definite  increases 
in  salary  each  year  up  to  the  final  maxima.  These  salaries,  changing  city 
administrations  are  powerless  to  upset.  As  a  result  the  teachers'  salary  ques- 
tion has  been  taken  out  of  politics  and  this,  in  connection  with  an  effective 
civil-service  method  of  appointment,  means  that  the  teachers  themselves  are 
free  from  the  degradation  of  having  to  look  to  the  politician  for  their  salaries 
or  their  promotions.  It  is  small  wonder  that  the  teachers  speak  of  this  measure 
as  their  "Magna  Charta." 


TAXATION  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES 

BY  NATHAN  C.  SCHAEFFER,  STATE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION, 

HARRISBURG,  PA. 

In  discussing  the  problem  of  taxation  for  school  purposes,  it  is  of  supreme 
importance  to  select  the  best  method  of  approaching  the  subject,  and  to  choose 
points  of  view  from  which  school  officers  and  taxpayers  may  see  the  full  import 
and  value  of  the  vast  sums  now  taken  from  the  purses  of  property  owners  for 
the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  free  schools. 

The  statistics  compiled  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  furnish 
a  very  interesting  study.  They  serve  to  show  the  magnitude  of  the  interests 
involved  in  our  systems  of  public  instruction  and  the  enormous  expenditure 
of  public  money  that  is  necessary  to  keep  the  schools  in  operation.  Accord- 
ing to  the  report  of  1903,  the  total  number  of  pupils  in  the  public  schools  was 
15,925,887.  These  pupils  were  under  the  care  of  439,596  teachers.  The 
total  amount  raised  by  taxation  for  school  purposes  was  $209, IIQ, 175,  and 
the  total  value  of  school  property  had  reached  the  princely  sum  of  $601,571,307. 
Vast  as  these  totals  are,  they  do  not  interest  the  average  citizen  half  so  much 
as  the  burdens  of  taxation  which  he  himself  must  bear.  How  each  man's 
tax  compares  with  that  of  his  neighbor,  upon  what  basis  the  taxes  are  levied, 
and  what  is  done  with  the  money  collected  by  the  taxgatherer,  these  are 
questions  of  surprising  interest  to  everybody. 

Mr.  Robert  Luce,  in  his  prize  essay,  claims  that  the  average  American 
citizen  works  one  month  out  of  the  year  for  the  sake  of  being  governed.  He  says : 

In  other  words,  taxation  takes  one-twelfth  of  his  earnings.  This  average  American 
is  the  head  of  a  family  of  five  persons,  earning  $1,000  per  year.  He  pays  $30  of  this  into 
the  national  treasury,  $30  into  state,  county,  city  or  town  treasuries,  and  at  a  moderate 
estimate  $23  more  for  the  indirect  cost  of  methods  of  collection.  The  total,  equal  to  one 
month's  earnings  does  not  affect  the  equitable  distribution  of  the  burden,  but  emphati- 
cally shows  the  importance  of  this  question. 

DANGER  SIGNALS  FROM  ABROAD 

The  average  man  in  America  has  not  seriously  felt  the  burdens  of  direct 
and  indirect  taxation,  because  our  national  debt  is  not  so  great  as  that  of  other 
countries.  According  to  the  bulletin  issued  by  the  Department  of  Commerce 


38  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

and  Labor,  the  debt  of  the  United  States  at  the  present  time  is  $925,011,627. 
This  looks  like  a  large  sum,  but  it  is  modest  when  compared  with  what  some 
other  countries  owe.  Of  all  the  great  powers,  the  German  Empire  has  the 
least  indebtedness,  only  $698,849,400,  but  the  Empire  is  hardly  a  generation 
old,  and  has  had  no  time  to  pile  up  a  national  debt.  The  individual  German 
states  owe  considerably  more  than  $2,000,000,000  which  runs  the  total  of 
the  Empire  and  the  several  states  to  nearly  three  billion  dollars.  Italy  owes 
$2,583,000,000,  a  burden  her  people  are  ill  able  to  bear.  Spain,  now  shorn 
of  nearly  all  her  foreign  possessions,  has  a  debt  of  $1,727,000,000,  and  finds 
its  taxes  almost  more  than  her  citizens  can  pay.  Austria-Hungary  is  another 
debt-laden  country.  The  debt  of  the  dual  monarchy  is  $1,555,000,000  while 
each  of  the  two  countries  has  a  seperate  debt  of  $1,600,000,000.  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  Austria's  subjects  are  leaving  by  hundreds  of  thousands  to  escape 
heavy  taxation  ?  Russia,  which  has  now  no  free  schools  for  the  children  of 
the  peasants,  owes  $3,333,938,388,  or  more  than  three  times  the  debt  of  the 
United  States1.  Her  expenditures  exceed  her  income  every  year  and  she 
must  borrow  largely  from  other  countries.  Great  Britain  owes  about  four 
times  as  much  as  the  United  States.  One-fourth  of  this  sum  was  contracted 
during  the  war  against  the  Boers.  Lastly  conies  France  with  an  indebted- 
ness of  $5,856,312,892.  Although  a  rich  country,  her  people  can  scarcely 
bear  the  burden  which  was  increased  so  largely  through  the  ambitious  folly 
of  Napoleon  III.  If  the  reckless  expenditures  of  the  American  people  con- 
tinue we  may  some  day  find  it  difficult  to  raise  enough  money  for  school  pur- 
poses. The  per  capita  debt  of  the  United  States  is  $11.51,  that  of  Great 
Britain  $92.59,  and  that  of  France  $150.31.  The  fact  that  an  average  Amer- 
ican works  one  month  each  year  for  the  privilege  of  being  governed,  and  the 
sad  experiences  of  European  countries  should  wake  up  the  citizens  to  the  dan- 
ger signals  ahead.  If  this  report  should  succeed  in  making  school  officials 
more  careful  how  they  spend  the  public  money,  it  will  do  great  service.  If, 
however,  its  effect  should  be  to  make  school  boards  stingy  in  their  expenditures 
for  schools,  it  will  do  great  harm.  One  should  make  strenuous  effort  to  avoid 
this  result  in  all  discussions  of  taxation  for  school  purposes.  And  it  should 
be  always  emphasized  that  the  deterioration  of  the  teaching  force  which 
results  from  lowering  salaries  of  teachers,  defeats  the  very  end  for  which  schools 
are  established  and  maintained. 

THE  BASIS  OF  TAXATION 

Taxes  may  be  imposed  upon  what  a  man  earns,  upon  what  he  has,  or 
upon  what  he  spends;  that  is,  upon  his  income,  his  property,  or  his  expendi- 
ture. Our  federal  government  taxes  every  man's  consumption,  while  the 
local  taxation  is  based  upon  a  man's  property,  and  to  some  extent  upon  his 
occupation  or  income. 

The  plan  of  taxing  a  man's  consumption  tends  to  tax  the  poor  man  out 

1  This  was  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Japan. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  39 

of  all  proportion  to  his  ability  to  pay  as  compared  with  the  rich  man.  Hence 
the  so-called  luxuries  are  taxed  more  heavily  than  the  necessaries  of  life  in 
every  rational  scheme  of  indirect  taxation.  Indirect  taxation  for  school 
purposes  is  an  important  factor  in  our  insular  possessions,  because  nearly 
all  the  money  required  .for  school  maintenance  is  derived  from  the  duties 
paid  at  the  customhouses. 

In  the  states  the  larger  portion  of  the  money  needed  for  school  purposes 
is  raised  by  taxing  property  and  incomes.  Where  the  same  rate  of  tax  is 
levied  upon  real  estate  and  personal  property,  there  is  a  tendency  to  assess 
real  estate  below  its  actual  value,  because  money  loaned  at  interest  is  apt 
to  be  concealed  from  the  assessor.  The  property  of  widows  and  orphans 
is  never  concealed;  hence  they  pay  an  undue  share  of  tax. 

A  concrete  example  will  suffice  to  show  the  iniquity  which  may  creep 
into  the  system.  A  widow  received  $8,000  life  insurance  upon  the  death 
of  her  husband.  Not  knowing  how  to  invest  the  money,  she  deposited  it 
in  a  savings  bank  which  paid  3  per  cent,  on  deposits.  The  borough  levy 
was  4  per  cent.,  hence  all  real  estate  was  assessed  far  below  its  market  value. 
Hence,  the  widow  was  obliged  to  pay  4  per  cent,  tax  on  money  for  which  she 
received  only  3  per  cent,  interest.  In  her  experience  taxation  meant  con- 
fiscation of  a  part  of  the  principal,  of  her  loan.  In  other  instances  real  estate, 
by  being  assessed  for  local  purposes  only,  has  been  taxed  out  of  all  just  pro- 
portion as  compared  with  money  at  interest,  which  in  some  of  the  states  is 
taxed  for  state  purposes  only. 

Some  taxing  systems  are  so  irrational  that  they  deserve  to  be  swept  from 
the  statute  books  in  order  to  make  room  for  more  equitable  methods.  One 
writer  who  is  a  specialist  on  taxation  claims  that  the  more  some  systems  of 
taxation  are  improved,  the  worse  they  become. 

No  tax  should  be  levied  unless  the  money  raised  thereby  can  be  better 
employed  by  the  government  than  by  individuals.  This  was  the  idea  of  the 
revolutionary  patriots,  and  sets  the  true  limit  to  taxes.  The  idea  is  well 
expressed  in  the  constitution  of  Pennsylvania  of  1776  (sec.  41),  which  provides 
that  no  public  tax,  custom,  or  contribution  shall  be  imposed  upon,  or  paid 
by  the  people  of  this  state  except  by  a  law  for  that  purpose;  and  before  any 
law  be  made  for  raising  it,  the  purpose  for  which  any  tax  is  to  be  raised  ought, 
to  appear  clearly  to  the  legislature  to  be  of  more  service  to  the  community 
than  the  money  would  be,  if  not  collected:  which  being  well  observed,  taxes 
cannot  be  burdens.  The  Vermont  constitution  of  1777  has  the  same  pro- 
vision. 

In  discussing  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  contribute  toward  the  support 
of  the  public  schools,  something  can  be  said  in  favor  of  a  poll  tax  which 
assumes  that  every  citizen,  no  matter  how  humble  his  station,  should  pay 
annually  at  least  one  dollar  toward  the  support  of  free  schools.  It  is  never 
wise  to  give  people  everything  for  nothing.  Everybody  should  feel  an  interest 
in  the  school,  and  we  always  take  more  or  less  interest  in  the  things  that 


40  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

take  money  out  of  our  pockets.  In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  say  a  word 
about  the  "incidence  of  taxation'5 — a  term  under  which  experts  discuss 
the  differences  between  the  tax-bearer  and  the  taxpayer.  Every  man  is 
willing  to  let  the  other  fellow  pay  the  taxes.  The  person  upon  whom  the 
tax  is  imposed  may  shift  it  to  some  one  else  so  that  the  person  who  originally 
pays  the  tax  is  not  the  person  by  whom  it  is  ultimately  borne.  Thus  the 
owner  of  a  farm  may  by  contract  oblige  the  tenant  to  pay  the  school  tax, 
because  the  school  toward  the  maintenance  of  which  the  said  tax  is  collected 
is  for  the  children  of  the  tenant  and  not  the  owner,  whose  children  probably 
attend  a  school  in  the  city  or  away  from  home.  Nor  should  tax-shifting 
be  confounded  with  tax-dodging.  Where  a  person  contributes  to  the  cam- 
paign funds  of  the  party  in  power  with  the  understanding  that  the  amount 
thus  paid  shall  be  more  than  made  up  to  him  by  lowering  his  assessment, 
it  becomes  a  case  of  the  most  reprehensible  type.  Tax-dodging  has  developed 
into  a  fine  art  that  is  very  injurious  to  our  civil  institutions,  whilst  tax-shifting 
may  be  justifiable,  as  when  banks  pay  the  tax  on  their  stock,  thus  saving  the 
expense  that  would  be  incurred  by  collecting  the  said  tax  from  each  stock- 
holder, some  of  whom  might  be  tempted  to  conceal  their  stock  from  the 
assessor. 

In  the  same  connection  it  should  also  be  emphasized  that  good  schools 
are  expensive.  "The  best  is  not  too  good  for  my  children,"  said  a  local 
politician;  and  the  ward  boss  will  seldom  tolerate  any  trifling  with  the  par- 
ticular school  to  which  his  own  children  are  assigned.  It  can  not  be  empha- 
sized too  strongly  that  good  schools  cost  money,  and  that  the  best  education 
for  any  community  can  never  be  made  cheap.  People  are  ever  willing  to 
get  something  for  nothing,  and  they  are  perpetually  fooled  by  schemes  to 
secure  good  schools  without  paying  for  them.  Thus  it  was  thought  at  one 
time  that  by  the  monitorial  system  of  Andrew  Bell  and  Joseph  Lancaster 
education  could  be  made  cheap.  The  scheme  received  the  commendation 
of  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton  of  New  York,  and  Governor  Heister  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  was  introduced  in  Pennsylvania  into  the  schools  of  Philadelphia, 
Lancaster,  Pittsburg,  Erie,  New  Castle,  Greencastle,  Milton,  and  perhaps 
other  places.  It  was  claimed  by  Joseph  Lancaster  that  by  the  aid  of  monitors 
one  master  can  teach  a  thousand  boys.  "Give  me  four  and  twenty  children 
today  and  I  will  supply  you  with  as  many  teachers  tomorrow, "  was  the  promise 
of  Andrew  Bell.  Thomas  Dunlap  gives  the  following  account  of  what  he 
found  upon  entering  the  board  of  directors  of  Philadelphia  1824:* 

Seven  schoolhouses  contained  fourteen  schools,  in  each  of  which  about  two  thousand 
children  were  to  be  educated Schools  where  the  young  idea  was  to  be  devel- 
oped in  penmanship  by  scratching  with  sticks  in  the  sand-bath,  developed  into  arithmetic 
by  a  doleful  simultaneous  chant  of  the  multiplication  table,  in  which  neither  the  school, 
monitor,  nor  master  could  detect  one  intelligible  sound,  developed  into  poetry  and  morals 
by  howling  in  horrid  groans  certain  doggerel  ballads  of  Lancaster  himself.  Schools  where 
the  baby  of  five  was  the  all  sufficient  teacher  of  the  baby  of  four,  save  that  the  latter,  if 

*See  p.  23,  Vol.  Ill,  Pennsylvania  Colonial  and  Federal. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  41 

stoutest,  generally  practiced  more  successfully  in  flogging  his  monitor  than  in  figuring  in 
his  sand-box,  and  where  but  too  often  the  master  lounged  through  two  or  three  hours  in 
the  morning  and  as  many  in  the  afternoon  in  gazing  down  upon  the  intellectual  pande- 
monium beneath  his  rostrum,  diversifying  his  intellectual  labors  by  not  infrequently 
bringing  his  rattan  in  as  a  "thirdsman"  between  the  stout  baby  and  the  cowardly  baby 
monitor.  The  only  argument  ever  advanced  in  its  favor  was  its  cheapness.  It  was 
cheap — very  cheap.  Sand  and  rattan  were  its  chief  returns. 

The  poor  results  of  the  monitorial  schools  started  the  agitation  in  Penn- 
sylvania in  favor  of  schools  supported  by  taxation,  whilst  the  odious  distinction 
between  rich  and  poor,  the  latter  being  schooled  at  public  expenses  under 
the  constitutions  of  1790  and  1838,  helped  the  movement  in  favor  of  schools 
free  to  all.  Judge  Samuel  Breck,  whose  parents  migrated  from  Boston 
to  Philadelphia  in  order  to  escape  the  taxes  which  the  former  city  imposed, 
entered  the  senate  of  Pennsylvania  and  secured  the  passage  of  an  act  to  estab- 
lish free  schools.  There  were  only  three  negative  votes  in  the  senate  and 
but  one  in  the  house.  However,  an  unexpected  storm  of  opposition  followed 
in  which  Governor  Wolf,  who  had  signed  the  bill  and  was  its  chief  advocate, 
was  defeated.  During  the  struggle  for  its  repeal  at  the  next  session  of  the 
legislature,  Thaddeus  Stevens  made  the  greatest  speech  of  his  life  and  won 
for  himself  the  title  of  "Savior  of  the  Common  Schools  of  Pennsylvania." 
The  plan  provided  for  a  system  of  schools  free  to  all  and  supported  by  a  system 
of  taxation  that  was  designed  to  reach  the  purses  of  all.  A  poll  tax  was  imposed 
in  order  that  every  individual  might  be  made  to  contribute  something  toward 
the  common  schools.  The  payment  of  an  appropriation  by  the  state  was 
conditioned  by  the  levy  of  local  tax  sufficient  to  run  the  schools  during  the 
minimum  term  fixed  by  law.  The  combination  of  the  two  plans  of  taxation 
was  better  than  if  either  state  taxation  or  local  taxation  had  been  adopted 
as  the  sole  means  of  raising  revenue,  for  the  following  reasons: 

1.  People  are  ever  ready  to  tax  themselves  for  the  sake  of  getting  money  out  of  the 
state  treasury. 

2.  The  state  appropriation  can  be  made  a  means  of  securing  compliance  with  the 
provisions  of  the  school  law. 

3.  If  the  state  raises  all  the  money  for  school  purposes,  the  average  citizen  loses  inter- 
est in  the  schools  after  he  has  no  more  children  to  educate. 

4.  If  all  the  funds  are  raised  by  local  taxation,  the  sparsely  settled  districts  have 
difficulty  to  raise  money  enough  to  secure  good  teachers. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  TAXATION 

If  the  taxation  of  the  leading  states  were  studied  in  its  genesis  and  develop- 
ment, it  might  be  possible  to  compare  them  in  detail,  to  point  out  the  merits 
and  defects  of  each  plan,  and  to  indicate  the  mistakes  which  future  legislation 
should  avoid  as  well  as  the  directions  in  which  existing  systems  can  be 
improved.  The  committee  did  not  have  the  sources  of  information  for  a 
comparison  of  this  kind,  and  hence  was  obliged  to  limit  its  efforts  to  an  investi- 
gation of  the  best  way  of  spending  the  money  which  is  raised  for  school  pur- 
poses by  existing  methods  of  taxation, 


42  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

It  is  gratifying  to  report  that  the  State  Teachers'  Association  of  Indiana 
is  at  work  upon  a  very  exhaustive  study  of  the  problems  of  taxation  for  school 
purposes  in  that  progressive  commonwealth. 

THE  TAXING  POWER 

In  a  representative  form  of  government  the  taxing  power  belongs  to  the 
legislature,  but  may  be  delegated  by  an  act  of  assembly  to  the  city  councils, 
or  to  the  board  of  directors,  or  to  the  people  assembled  in  town  meeting — 
where  the  power  may  be  said  to  belong  originally.  The  policy  of  fixing  the 
tax  rate  at  the  town  meeting  is  characteristic  of  New  England.  The  power 
of  fixing  and  levying  the  rate  is  delegated  to  the  township  board  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  other  states  which  have  the  township  system  with  the  exception 
of  Indiana  where  the  township  trustee  fixes  the  levy,  whilst  in  the  southern 
states  this  is  the  function  of  the  county  board.  The  large  cities  which  delegate 
the  power  to  councils  often  report  more  pupils  than  school  seats,  because 
there  are  objects  dearer  to  the  heart  of  the  average  councilman  than  the 
education  of  his  neighbors'  children.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  the 
officials  who  have  the  power  to  levy  taxes  should  be  directly  amenable  to 
the  people.  The  schools  will  then  be  as  efficient  as  the  people  wish  them 
to  be.  In  any  event  it  is  hard  to  keep  the  schools  far  in  advance  of 
public  opinion  even  tho  the  schools  be  controlled  by  the  United  States 
government. 

LIMITATIONS  OF  THE  TOWN  MEETING  PLAN 

In  reply  to  a  question  about  the  town  meeting  as  an  agency  for  fixing 
the  tax  rate,  one  prominent  educator  in  New  England  writes: 

i.  The  town  meeting  is  probably  the  most  blundering  form  of  government  that  has 
ever  been  devised.  This  has  been  known  to  be  true  ever  since  the  day  when  a  similar  body 
condemned  Socrates. 

•2.  Nevertheless  it  is  the  best  form  of  government  in  the  world,  (a)  because  of  its 
tremendous  educational  inspirational  power;  (6)  because  of  the  fact  that,  however  it  may 
blunder,  it  has  such  flexibility  that  blunders  can  usually  be  righted;  (c)  because  more 
than  all  other  institutions  of  government  in  the  world,  it  does  give  opportunity  for  the 
man  who  has  the  talent  for  leadership,  to  develop  that  talent  and  make  himself  a  leader. 
As  they  said  in  the  French  Revolution,  "Carriere  ouverte  aux  talens." 

3.  The  town  meeting,  of  course,  becomes  impracticable  after  the  community  reaches 
a  certain  size.   In  Massachusetts  this  limit  has  been  set  at  twelve  thousand  (12,000)  popu- 
lation, which  would  give  about  twenty-five  hundred  (2500)  voters. 

4.  Is  the  town  plan  of  raising  the  school  money  entirely  satisfactory  ?    It  is  not. 
Nothing  on  earth  is  entirely  satisfactory.     Parsimony  and   favoritism  and  seven  other 
devils  all  have  their  say  in  town  meeting  without  doubt,  and  yet  having  had  experience 
as  a  superintendent  of  schools  in  four  county  towns  and  one  city,  I  am  best  satisfied  with 
the  town  meeting  plan. 

Another  gentleman  of  very  wide  experience  and  observation  writes: 
In  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts  the  state  fixes  a  minimum  rate  of 
expenditure  per  pupil.   The  town  meetings  must  vote  this  much  money,  but  can  go  above 
it  as  much  as  they  see  fit.   After  years  of  observation  of  town  meetings  in  this  section,  I 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  43 

am  of  the  opinion  that  they  have  outlived  their  usefulness,  but  people  who  have  lived  here 
all  their  lives  still  believe  in  the  town  meeting. 

Salaries  of  teachers  in  Maine,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire — yes  in  Massachusetts — are 
pretty  nearly  as  low  as  the  Pennsylvania  standard.  Of  course,  salaries  of  principals  of 
high  schools  and  superintendents  in  Massachusetts  are  high,  and  that  tends  to  make  the 
average  high  enough  to  cover  the  deficiency  in  the  salaries  of  assistant  teachers.  In  Maine 
and  New  Hampshire,  I  doubt  whether  salaries  of  country  teachers  average  more  than 
$30  a  month.  In  Lowell,  Lawrence  and  many  other  cities  of  Massachusetts  the  salaries 
of  teachers  are  not  as  high  as  that  earned  by  girls  in  domestic  service.  This,  of  course,  has 
operated  to  lessen  the  efficiency  of  teaching  by  driving  out  of  the  profession  the  more  com- 
petent and  by  continually  lowering  standards  so  as  to  let  in  the  least  efficient.  Were  it 
not  for  Boston,  Brookline,  Newton,  and  Springfield,  the  salaries  of  teachers  in  New  Eng- 
land would  tend  downward  from  even  the  present  low  standard  rather  than  upward. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  even  in  the  state  with  the  best  educational  senti- 
ment the  law,  as  in  days  of  old,  must  be  made  to  serve  as  a  schoolmaster  to 
the  people.  The  fixing  of  a  minimum  levy  which  the  town  meeting  must 
vote  is  only  a  counterpart  of  the  legislation  in  Indiana,  West  Virginia,  and 
Pennsylvania,  which  fixes  the  minimum  salary.  Pressure  upon  a  legislature 
often  accomplishes  what  average  public  opinion  could  never  accomplish 
thru  a  town  meeting,  or  thru  popular  vote,  or  thru  the  representatives  of  the 
people  in  a  township  or  county  board. 

Every  tax-paying  body  should  be  limited  by  statute  to  a  maximum  rate 
beyond  which  taxes  cannot  be  imposed  except  by  vote  of  the  people. 

How  can  the  taxpayer  be  made  to  see  that  the  money  expended  in  the 
right  education  of  the  children  is  the  best  investment  of  public  money  ever 
made,  and  that  it  is  fully  as  much  the  duty  of  the  patriot  to  pay  a  just  share 
of  tax  for  the  support  of  the  schools  as  it  is  his  duty  to  cast  a  vote  or  carry 
a  gun  ?  In  addition  to  lines  of  argument  indicated  in  the  paper  read  before 
the  national  council  in  1902,  the  following  statement  of  Prof.  Ely  is  both 
suggestive  and  convincing. 

I  was  educated  largely  at  public  schools,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  I  should  have  been 
able  to  finish  my  school  education  had  not  the  schools  been  supported  by  taxes;  for  where 
schools  are  supported  by  fees,  the  fees  must  be  high  in  order  to  defray  expenses,  if  the 
schools  are  of  superior  quality. 

My  educational  advantages  have  been  of  pecuniary  value  to  me,  while  the  personal 
satisfaction  which  I  derive  from  them  is  to  me  beyond  price.  I  have  become  a  taxpayer, 
and  with  no  children  of  my  own  at  public  schools,  I  am  helping  to  educate  other  men's 
children.  If  in  the  course  of  my  life  I  pay  in  taxes  for  schools  twenty  times  what  I  have  I 
ever  received  from  taxes  levied  for  my  education,  I  shall  nevertheless  think  I  have  been 
well  repaid,  and  shall  always  experience  a  feeling  of  profound  gratitude  for  those  who 
establish  the  American  public  school  system.  While  I  individually  gain,  the  community 
also  gains  because  it  receives  back  more  than  it  has  paid  out.  This  holds  generally  with 
regard  to  wise  expenditures  for  educational  purposes.  The  chief  factor  in  production  is 
man,  and  the  better  he  is  prepared  for  industrial  pursuits  by  suitable  training  of  head  and 
hand,  the  larger  will  be  the  quantity  of  economic  goods  produced,  and  the  more  rapid  the 
accumulation  of  wealth.  A  present  burden  may  lessen  future  rates  of  taxation  by  increas- 
ing the  taxable  basis  of  a  state  or  city. 


44  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

TAXATION  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 

In  Pennsylvania,  every  township,  borough,  or  city  is  a  school  district. 
Cities  are  divided  into  three  classes.  Philadelphia  is  the  only  city  of  the 
first  class.  Pittsburg,  Allegheny,  and  Scranton  are  cities  of  the  second  class. 
All  other  cities  belong  to  the  third  class.  A  city  of  the  first  class  must  have 
a  population  of  a  million  or  over.  A  city  of  the  second  class  must  have  at 
least  100,000  inhabitants  and  less  than  a  million  inhabitants.  In  Philadelphia 
the  amount  of  tax  to  be  levied  for  school  purposes  is  determined  by  councils. 
In  all  other  districts  the  amount  of  tax  to  be  levied  is  fixed  by  the  board  of 
education,  generally  known  as  the  board  of  school  directors  or  school  con- 
trollers. The  amount  of  school  tax  shall  not  exceed  the  amount  of  state 
and  county  taxes  authorized  by  law  to  be  assessed.  At  the  time  of  the  passage 
of  this  law,  the  amount  authorized  to  be  levied  for  state  and  county  purposes 
was  thirteen  mills,  ten  mills  for  the  latter  and  three  for  the  former.  The 
state  tax  has  since  been  taken  off  real  estate,  but  this  does  not  affect  the  amount 
of  school  tax  that  can  be  levied,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  the  obvious  intention 
of  the  law  to  fix  that  amount  at  thirteen  mills  on  the  dollar,  and  thus  avoid 
the  perplexing  changes  that  would  otherwise  cripple  the  financial  manage- 
ment of  school  affairs.  This  decision  has  been  sustained  by  the  supreme 
court.  'The  board  of  directors,  or  controllers,  may  also  levy  at  any  time,  not 
oftener  than  once  in  each  school  year,  a  special  tax  not  exceeding  the  amount 
of  the  regular  annual  tax  for  such  year.  This  special  tax  is  usually  spoken 
of  as  the  building  tax,  and  can  be  applied  (a)  for  purchasing  grounds;  (6) 
for  erecting  and  furnishing  buildings;  (c)  for  the  accumulation  of  a  fund 
for  purchasing  grounds  and  erecting  buildings;  (d)  for  the  payment  of  a 
debt  contracted  in  purchasing  ground  and  erecting  buildings;  (e)  for  com- 
pleting improvements  in  school  buildings  completed  at  the  time  of  their 
erection ;  (/)  for  fencing  and  improving  grounds  in  connection  with  the  erection 
of  buildings;  (g)  for  the  payment  of  fuel  used  in  heating  buildings;  (h)  for 
the  payment  of  the  expense  of  janitors  employed  in  care  of  buildings. 

In  this  way  it  is  possible  to  assess  twenty-six  mills  for  school  purposes3 
half  for  maintenance  and  half  for  building.  Careful  provision  is  thus  made 
for  teachers'  salaries,  free  textbooks  and  supplies,  and  other  expenses  incident 
to  the  running  of  the  schools,  whilst  suitable  sums  can  be  raised  for  the  erection 
and  equipment  of  new  buildings. 

A  per  capita  tax  of  one  dollar  is  levied  and  collected  annually  for  school 
purposes  for  each  and  every  male  inhabitant  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years 
and  upward.  School  taxes  are  levied  upon  real  estate  and  personal  property. 
Burial  grounds,  churches,  hospitals,  universities,  colleges,  seminaries,  acad- 
emies, associations  and  institutions  of  learning,  benevolence  or  charity,  are 
exempt  from  taxation.  Unsettled  lands  are  required  to  pay  school  tax. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  45 

TWENTY -FIVE  YEARS'  PROGRESS  OF  PUBLIC  EDUCATION  IN 
NORTH    CAROLINA:     A    COMPARATIVE   STATISTICAL 
STUDY  OF  SCHOOL  MAINTENANCE  IN  THE  SOUTH 
AND  SOME  RESULTS* 

PREPARED   UNDER   THE   DIRECTION   OF   CHARLES    D.    MCIVER,    BY   CHARLES    L. 
COON,    OF   THE   NORTH    CAROLINA    DEPARTMENT    OF    PUBLIC    EDUCATION 

PART  I.  -  FINANCIAL  ABILITY  TO  LEVY  SCHOOL  TAXES 

The  following  tables  show  the  present  relative  financial  ability  of  North 
Carolina  and  other  southern  states  to  raise  school  funds  by  taxation,  as  com- 
pared with  the  country  at  large  and  with  particular  states;  also  the  manner 
in  which  the  South  is  making  use  of  her  ability  in  comparison  with  other  parts 
of  the  country. 

PROPERTY  VALUATION  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA   AND   THE  UNITED   STATES, 

1850-1900 

In  any  discussion  of  educational  progress,  the  financial  ability  of  the  people 
in  question  must  be  considered,  especially  in  making  comparisons.  The 
following  figures  are  taken  from  Compendium  of  Census,  1890,  Part  III,  page 
954,  and  following,  except  those  for  1900,  which  are  based  on  the  Statistical 
Abstract  of  the  Department  of  Commerce: 

fNorth  Carolina  United  States 

1850 -      $226,800,472  $   7,135,780,228 

Per  capita  wealth  261  308 

1860     -         -         -         -  358,739,399  16,159,616,068 

Per  capita  wealth  361  514 

1870     -  -        260,757,244  30,068,518,507 

Per  capita  wealth  243  780 

1880    ------  461,000,000  43,642,000,000 

Per  capita  wealth  329  870 

1890    -  584,148,199  65,037,091,197 

Per  capita  wealth  361  1,036 

1900     -  ^847,015,094  94,300,000,000 

Per  capita  wealth  447  1*235 

Observe  the  following  facts  disclosed  by  the  above  table: 

1.  The  losses  of  the  Civil  War  account  for  the  per  capita  wealth  of  North  Carolina 
being  the  same  in  1890  as  in  1860. 

2.  The  per  capita  wealth  of  the  whole  country  in  1860  was  only  42.3  per  cent,  more 
than  that  of  North  Carolina;    in  1900,  the  per  capita  wealth  of  the  country  was  176.2 
per  cent,  larger  than  that  of  North  Carolina. 

3.  Notice  that  North  Carolina,  in  1900,  was  not  yet  as  able  financially  to  educate 
its  children  as  was  the  country  at  large  in  1860. 

*A11  the  figures  used  in  this  study  are  taken  from  the  census  of  the  United  States,  the  reports  of  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  the  state  reports  of  superintendents  of  public  schools,  and  other 
official  documents.  The  references,  calculations,  and  deductions  are  my  own. — C.  L.  C. 

tNot  counting  slaves  as  a  part  of  the  population  but  only  as  property.  North  Carolina  had  $391  per 
capita  wealth  of  free  population  in  1850  and  $542  in  1860,  in  comparison  with  $407  per  capita  for  United 
States  in  1850  and  $588  in  1860. 

t  Tnese  figures  for  IQOO  are  based  on  an  increase  of  45  per  cent,  in  the  wealth  of  the  country  from 
1890  to  1000,  which  is  the  estimate  of  the  Department  of  Commerce. 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  per  capita  wealth  of  North 
Carolina  for  1850  and  1860,  as  calculated  above,  includes  the  free  and  the 
slave  population  for  those  years.  But  slaves  were  then  property  and  made 
up  a  considerable  part  of  property  values.  For  instance,  the  assessed  per- 
sonal property  of  North  Carolina,  according  to  the  census  of  1850,  was  $140,- 
368,673.  The  real  estate  was  assessed  at  $71,702,740;  the  whole  at  $212,- 
071,413.  It  was  estimated  that  the  true  valuation  of  all  property  was  $226,- 
800,472.  Slaves  were  personal  property;  hence  the  large  personal  property 
values,  not  only  in  North  Carolina,  but  in  other  southern  states  prior  to  1865. 
But  that  fact  and  other  facts  of  interest  in  the  discussion  of  the  subject  being 
considered  will  appear  from  the  next  table. 

The  following  table  shows  the  value  of  real  and  personal  property  in  the 
eleven  southern  states,  North  Carolina  included,  from  1850-1870,  also  the 
decrease  in  the  assessed  value  of  property  during  the  ten  years  between  1860 
and  1870  and  the  increase  in  the  debts  of  these  states: 

INCREASE  AND  DECREASE  IN  PROPERTY  VALUES 
i8so-:87o;  STATE  DEBTS  1850-1870 


1850 

1860 

Assessed 
value  of   real 
and  personal 
property  ' 

Total 
assessed 
valuation  of 
real  and  per- 
sonal prop- 
erty 

Estimated 
true  valuation 
of  real  and 
personal 
property 

Assessed 
value  of  real 
and  personal 
property 

Total 
assessed 
valuation  of 
real  and  per- 
sonal prop- 
erty 

Estimated 
true  valuation 
of  real  and 
personal 
property 

$417,952,228 

130,198,429 

$382,304,253 

$391,646,438 

239.069.108 
116,366,573 

$657,021.336 

$793,249,681 

140,368,673 

212,071413 

226.800,472 

175,931.029 
129,772,684 

292,297,602 

358,739.399 

178.130.217 

283,867,709 

288.257,694 

359,546,444 
179.801.441 

489,319,128 

548,138,754 

Florida  

213.400  486 
7,024,588 

335,110,225 

335425,714 

438.430.946 
21,722.810 

618,232,387 

645,895,237 

15.274,146 
78,870,718 

23,198,734 

23,198,734 

47,206,875 
155,034  089 

69,929,685 

73,101,500 

162,463.705 
65,171.438 

241,334,423 

228,204  332 

277,164,673 
157,836.737 

432,198,762 

495,237,078 

143,250,729 
176.623.654 

208,422,167 

228.951.130 

351,636,175 
280,704.988 

509,472.912 

607.324,911 

Texas  

49,832,464 
28,149,671 

226.456,118 

233,998,764 

155,082.277 
112,476.013 

435,787,265 

602,118,568 

25414,000 
17,372,524 

53-563671 

55,362.340 

155-316,322 
63,254,740 

267,792,335 

365,200,614 

19,056,151 

36,428,675 

39,841,025 

116.956,590 
219,991,180 

180,211,330 

219,256,473 

87,299,565 

195,281,358 

207454,704 

162,504,020 

382,495,200 

493  903,892 

<  The  value  of  real  property  is  given  first  in  these  tables;  personal  property  second. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


47 


INCREASE  AND  DECREASE  IN  PROPERTY  VALUES— Continued 


1870 

Assessed 
value  of  real 
and  persona' 
property 

Total 
assessed 
valuation  of 
property 

Estimated 
true  valua- 
tion of 
property 

Decrease  in 
assessed 
valuation 
1860-1870 

Public    Debt 
in  1850 

Public    Debt 
in  1870 

Virginia  

$138,836,211 

N.  Carolina  

86.323,900 

$365,439:917 

$409,588,133 

153,735,208 
33.044.561 

$13,575,355 

$55,921,255 

S.  Carolina  

47,056,610 

130,378,622 

260,757,244 

128,875.419 
10,278,009 

977,000 

32,474,036 

64.418,662 

183,913:337 

208,146,989 

295,127,782 

3,i44,93i 

13,075,229 

83,271,303 

227,219,519 

268,169,207 

355,159.643 

2,801,972 

21,753,712 

12,283,152 

32,480,843 

44,163,655 

34923,723 

2,800 

2,185,838 

38,359.552 

155,582,595 

201,855,841 

238805,121 

3,983,616 

13,277,154 

59,000,430 

177,278,800 

209,197.345 

292.635.745 

7,271,707 

2,594,415 

Texas  

62,028,514 
97,186  568 

253,371,890 

323,125,666 

93,053,763 

11,492.566 

53,087,441 

Arkansas  

52,546.361 

149,732,929 

159,052,542 

102,769.961 

5,725,671 

1,613,907 

Tennessee  

31,426,539 

94,528,843 

156.394691 

85,530,051 

1,506,562 

4,151.152 

30,746,786 

253,782,161 

498,237,724 

131,757,234 

3,776,856 

48,827,191 

t  Increase. 

Observe  the  following: 

1.  That,  between  1860  and  1870,  the  assessed  value  of  real  estate  in  North  Carolina 
decreased  $33,044,560,  while  the  personal  property  decreased  $128,875,419;  more  than 
$161,000,000  in  all  and  about  eight-elevenths  of  the  value  of  all  the  real  and  personal 
property  of  the  State  in  1850. 

2.  Observe  that  the  state  debt  increased  more  than  thirty-two  times  from  1850  to 
1870;  that  the  state  debt  in  1870  was  about  one-fifth  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  whole 
property  of  the  state.     In  this  respect  North  Carolina  fared  much  worse  than  any  other 
southern  state  at  the  hands  of  the  reconstruction  state  government. 

3.  Observe  the  striking  decrease  in  personal  property  valuation  between  1860  and 
1870  for  the  whole  South.     The  real  estate  valuation  assessed  decreased  $401,809,941 
and  the  assessed  valuation  of  personal  property  decreased  $1,912,333,149 — a  total  decrease 
of  $2,314,143,090.     This  amount  hardly  represents  all  the  losses  by  war,  but  it  does  give 
some  basis  for  calculating  the  fearful  cost  of  that  war  to  the  South. 

4.  The  Civil  War  added  more  than  one-third  more  children  to  the  school  popula- 
tion to  be  educated,  while  that  war  took  away  millions  of  the  financial  ability  of  the  state 
What  was  true  of  North  Carolina  was  more  than  true,  in  1870,  of  the  whole  South. 

These  tables  still  further  disclose  the  effect  of  the  Civil  War  on  southern 
property  values  as  compared  with  other  states. 

ESTIMATED  TRUE  VALUATION  OF  PROPERTY,  1850-1903— T3S  SOJTH 


1850. 

1860. 

1870. 

1880. 

1890. 

1900. 

Florida  .   .  . 

389  489  388 

658  651,897 

602  118  568 

Texas 

NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


PER  CAPITA  WEALTH  BASED  ON  ABOVE  FIGURES 


1850 

1860 

1870 

1880 

iSQO 

1900 

$334 

$467 

$53  1 

$  674 

-148 

370 

611 

Florida  

261 

I  068 

Tennessee  

445 

396 

687 

767 

850 

Texac    

248 

605 

5*8 

3S6 

COMPARISON  WITH  OTHER  STATES* 


1850 

1860. 

1870 

1880 

1890 

1900 

Massachusetts. 
New  York  
Pennsylvania.  . 
Maryland  
Ohio  .... 

*   573  342  286 

1.080.300  216 
722.486,120 
319.217.364 

$   815237.433 
1-843-338  51? 
1,416.501  818 
376  919.944 

$2.132,148.741 
6.500,841.264 
3.808  340.112 
643  748976 

$2  623.000000 

6,308  ooo  ooo 
4,942  ooo  ooo 
837.000000 

$2  803  645.447 

8  576  701.991 
6.190.746.550 
1.085  473  048 

$  4.065,285,898 

12  436  217.886 
8.976  582.497 
I-5739359IO 

871  860  282 

5.066,751,719 

Wisconsin  
Connecticut.  .. 
New  Jersey.  .  .  . 

42  056  505 

155.707  080 

200,000  OOO 

273  671  668 
444  274  H4 
467918.324 

702  307  329 
774631  524 
940  976.064 

1,139.000  ooo 
779  ooo  ooo 
1,305,000.000 

1,833308523 
835.120  219 
1,445,285,114 

2658     2Q7      358 

1,210  924  317 
2,095,663,415 

*  All  the  estimates  are  based  on  the  figures  compiled  by  United  States  Census  Bureau  and  the  Department  of 
Commerce. 

PER  CAPITA  WEALTH  BASED  ON  ABOVE  FIGURES 


Massachusetts. 

$577 

$662 

$1.463 

$1.471 

$1.252 

$  ,449 

New  York  ... 

349 

475 

1,483 

1,241 

1,43° 

,7ii- 

Pennsy/vania.  . 

313 

487 

1.081 

I.I54 

I.I77 

,424 

Maryland  

376 

549 

824 

895 

1.041 

,325 

Ohio  

255 

510 

839 

I,OI2 

1,076 

.378 

Indiana  

205 

392 

755 

850 

956 

,207 

Illinois  

183 

509 

835 

1  .04^ 

i  .324 

,524 

Wisconsin  

138 

353 

666 

866 

t.oSj 

.285 

Connecticut.  .  . 

420 

966 

1.441 

i  251 

1,119 

,333 

New  Jersey.  .  . 

409 

696 

1,038 

i  154 

I,  OOO 

•  113 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  per  capita  value  of  the  property  of  North 
Carolina  was  the  same  in  1860  and  in  1890.  Many  of  the  other  southern 
states,  in  1900,  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  Civil  War. 
But  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  South  increased  its  wealth  45  per  cent., 
with  the  other  sections  of  the  country,  between  1890  and  1900. 

SCHOOL  FUNDS  OF  THE  SOUTH 


States 

Estimated  true 
valuation  of 
property.    1900 

School  Funds 
raised  1 

Amount  raised  for 
every  dollar  of  true 
valuation,  of  prop- 
erty* and  the  year 

Income   from 
permanent 
funds}: 

$2,136  80  1 

.00170  —  1002-03 

$  48,886 

.00192  —  1002-03 

791,951 

.00117  —  1001-02 

30.813 

154.238 

658651  897 

186.226 

.00208  —  1902-03 

61.000 

i  ,64  1  .046 

.00248  —  1901-02 

133,292 

t  State  reports. 

*  Income  from  permanent  funds  has  been  deducted  before  this  amount  has  been  ascertained. 

$  Report  of  United  States  Commissioner  oj  Education,  1901-02. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


49 


In  comparing  these  figures  with  those  of  the  next  table,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  the  average  per  capita  ability  of  the  South  to  maintain  schools  was 
about  the  same  in  1900  as  in  1860.  No  such  educational  showing  as  the  above 
could  be  made  for  any  section  or  any  state  in  1860,  taking  the  same  financial 
conditions  into  consideration. 

SCHOOL  FUNDS  OF  ELEVEN  OTHER  STATES 


STATES 

Estimated  true 
valuation  of 
property,    1000 

School  Funds 
raised,  f 
1901—1902 

Amount  raised  for 
every  dollar  of  true 
valuation  of  prop- 
erty and  the  year  * 

Income   from 
funds 

$  4,065  285  898 

New  York  

Maryland  

Ohio  

Indiana  

8,581,355 

845,366 

Wisconsin  

New  Jersey  

7  118,248 

t  Report  of  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  1901-02. 

*  Income  from  permanent  funds  has  been  deducted  before  this  amount  has  been  ascertained. 

PROPERTY  FOR  EACH  CHILD  OF  SCHOOL  AGE— THE  SOUTH 


STATES 

Estimated  true 
valuation  of 
property,  1000 

Children  of 
school  age  to 
be  educated 
(5-18),  looof 

Per 

capita 
wealth 
for  each 
child  of 
school 
age, 
1900 

Per 
capita 
wealth 
for  each 
inhab- 
itant, 
1860 

Per 
capita 
wealth 
for  each 
inhab- 
itant 
1900 

$  674 

361 

478,480 

779 

i  628 

611 

Florida  

I   068 

658,651,897 

767 

425 

850 

Texas  

2  859 

605 

687 

United  States  

I    235 

t  Report  of  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  1901-02. 

*  Slaves  included  in  the  population  on  which  these  figures  are  based. 

Observe  that  North  Carolina  was  the  poorest  state  in  the  South  in  1860. 
In  1900,  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi  were  below  her  in  per  capita  wealth; 
also  that  a  number  of  the  southern  states  in  1860  had  as  much  per  capita 
wealth  as  the  average  for  the  whole  country,  but  that  in  1900  no  southern 
state  had  as  much  per  capita  wealth  as  the  average  for  the  country. 

In  estimating  and  comparing  the  ability  of  the  South  to  raise  school  funds, 
it  should  be  remembered  that,  on  account  of  the  small  per  capita  wealth,  one 
dollar  at  the  South  must  bear  a  burden  so  much  larger  relatively  than  else- 
where in  the  country,  for  the  expenses  of  government  and  purposes  other  than 
education  that  it  leaves  very  little  margin  for  education  without  making  such 
taxation  extremely  burdensome. 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


PROPERTY  FOR  EACH  CHILD  OF  SCHOOL  AGE— ELEVEN  OTHER  STATES 


STATES 

Estimated  true 
valuation  of 
property  in 

1000 

Children  of 
school  age 
to  be  edu- 
cated (5-18) 
in  1000 

Per  capita 
wealth  for 
each  child 
of  school 
age,  1000 

Per  capita 
wealth  for 
each  inhabi- 
tant in  1860 

Per  capita 
wealth  for 
each  inhabi- 
tant in  ipoo 

Massachusetts  

$  4,065,285,898 

$662 

New  York  

638a 

5  i?8 

487 

4,681 

Ohio     

*?8 

Indiana  

,28  S 

966 

New  Jersey  

606 

North  Carolina  with  a  total  population  of  1,893,810,  in  1900,  had,  650,700 
children  of  school  age,  while  Massachusetts  with  a  total  population  of  2,805,- 
346,  in  1900,  had  only  634,510  children  of  school  age.  The  per  capita  wealth 
for  each  child  of  school  age  in  Massachusetts  was  $6,407 ;  in  North  Carolina, 
only  $1,301.  A  school  tax  to  provide  an  equal  per  capita  amount  for  educa- 
tion would  necessarily  have  to  be  more  than  five  times  as  large  on  each  one 
dollar  of  property  in  North  Carolina  as  in  Massachusetts,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  extra  expense  of  the  separate  schools  North  Carolina  must  maintain  for 
the  negro  children. 


PART  II.     SCHOOL  TAXATION  LAWS  AND  FUNDS  RAISED  FOR  SCHOOLS 

The  following  pages  contain  a  summary  of  the  constitutional  provisions 
of  the  eleven  southern  states  in  regard  to  public  education;  also  a  summary 
of  all  their  laws  relating  to  public  taxation  for  schools,  the  details  as  to  the 
means  by  which  North  Carolina  maintains  its  system  of  public  schools,  and 
other  information  of  kindred  nature. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  SUPPORT 

The  support  of  public  education  now  required  by  the  constitutions  of  the 
several  southern  states  is  contained  in  the  following  provisions: 

Virginia. — The  General  Assembly  shall  levy  a  state  capitation  tax  of,  and  not  exceed- 
ing, one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  annum  on  every  male  resident  of  the  state  not  less  than 
twenty-one  years  of  age  .  .  .  .;  one  dollar  of  which  shall  be  applied  exclusively  in  aid 
of  public  free  schools The  General  Assembly  may  authorize  the  board  of  super- 
visors of  any  county,  or  the  council  of  any  town  or  city,  to  levy  an  additional  capitation 
tax  not  exceeding  one  dollar  per  annum  on  every  such  resident  within  its  limits,  which 
shall  be  applied  in  aid  of  the  public  schools  of  such  county,  city,  or  town. 

The  General  Assembly  shall  apply  the  annual  interest  on  the  literary  fund;  that 
portion  of  the  capitation  tax  provided  for  in  the  constitution  to  be  paid  into  the  state 
treasury,  and  not  returnable  to  the  counties  and  cities;  and  an  annual  tax  on  property  of 
not  less  than  one  nor  more  than  five  mills  on  the  dollar  to  the  schools  of  the  primary  and 
grammar  grades,  for  the  equal  benefit  of  the  people  of  the  state,  to  be  apportioned  on  a 
basis  of  school  population;  the  number  of  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  twenty 
years  in  each  school  district  to  be  the  basis  of  such  apportionment 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  51 

Each  county,  city,  town,  if  the  same  be  a  separate  school  district,  and  school  dis- 
trict is  authorized  to  raise  additional  sums  by  a  tax  on  property,  not  to  exceed  in  the 
aggregate  five  mills  on  the  dollar  in  any  one  year,  to  be  apportioned  and  expended  by 
the  local  school  authorities  of  said  counties,  cities,  towns,  and  districts  in  establishing  and 
maintaining  such  schools  as  in  their  judgment  the  public  welfare  may  require:  Provided, 
That  such  primary  schools  as  may  be  established  in  any  year  shall  be  maintained  at 
least  four  months  of  that  school  year  before  any  part  of  the  fund  assessed  and  collected 
may  be  devoted  to  the  establishment  of  schools  of  higher  grade 

North  Carolina. — The  General  Assembly,  at  its  first  session  under  this  constitution, 
shall  provide  by  taxation,  and  otherwise,  for  a  general  and  uniform  system  a  public 
schools,  wherein  tuition  shall  be  free  of  charge  to  all  the  children  of  the  state  between 
the  ages  of  six  and  twenty-one  years.  And  the  children  of  the  white  race  and  the  chil- 
dren of  the  colored  race  shall  be  taught  in  separate  public  schools;  but  there  shall  be  no 
discrimination  in  favor  of,  or  to  the  prejudice  of  either  race. 

Each  county  of  the  state  shall  be  divided  into  a  convenient  number  of  districts,  in 
which  one  or  more  public  schools  shall  be  maintained  at  least  four  months  in  every  year; 
and  if  the  commissioners  of  any  county  shall  fail  to  comply  with  the  aforesaid  require- 
ments of  this  section  they  shall  be  liable  to  indictment. 

The  proceeds  of  all  lands  that  have  been  or  hereafter  may  be  granted  by  the  United 
States  to  this  state,  and  not  otherwise  appropriated  by  this  state  or  the  United  States; 
also,  all  moneys,  stocks,  bonds,  and  other  property,  now  belonging  to  any  state  fund  for 
purposes  of  education;  also,  the  net  proceeds  of  all  sales  of  the  swamp  lands  belonging 
to  the  state,  and  all  other  grants,  gifts,  or  devises  that  have  been  or  hereafter  may  be 
made  to  the  state,  not  otherwise  appropriated  by  the  state,  or  by  the  terms  of  the  grant, 
gift,  or  devise,  shall  be  paid  into  the  state  treasury;  and,  together  with  so  much  of  the 
ordinary  revenue  of  the  state  as  may  by  law  be  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  shall  be  faith- 
fully appropriated  for  establishing  and  maintaining  in  this  state  a  system  of  free  public 
schools,  and  for  no  other  uses  or  purposes  whatsoever. 

All  moneys,  stocks,  bonds,  and  other  property  belonging  to  a  county  school  fund; 
also,  the  net  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  estrays;  also,  the  clear  proceeds  of  all  penalties 
and  forfeitures  and  of  all  fines  collected  in  the  several  counties  for  any  breach  of  the  penal 
or  military  laws  of  the  State ;  and  all  moneys  which  shall  be  paid  by  persons  as  an  equiv- 
alent for  exemption  from  military  duty,  shall  belong  to  and  remain  in  the  several  counties, 
and  shall  be  faithfully  appropriated  for  establishing  and  maintaining  free  public  schools 
in  the  several  counties  in  this  state:  Provided,  That  the  amount  collected  in  each  county 
shall  be  annually  reported  to  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

South  Carolina. — The  salaries  of  the  state  and  county  school  officers  and  compensa- 
tion of  county  treasurers  for  collecting  and  disbursing  school  moneys  shall  not  be  paid 
out  of  the  school  funds,  but  shall  be  otherwise  provided  for  by  the  General  Assembly. 

The  General  Assembly  shall  provide  for  a  liberal  system  of  free  public  schools  for  all 
children  between  the  ages  of  six  and  twenty-one  years. 

The  existing  county  boards  of  commissioners  of  the  several  counties,  or  such  officer 
or  officers  as  may  hereafter  be  vested  with  the  same  or  similar  powers  and  duties,  shall 
levy  an  annual  tax  of  three  mills  on  the  dollar  upon  all  the  taxable  property  in  their  respec- 
tive counties,  which  tax  shall  be  collected  at  the  same  time  and  by  the  same  officers  as 
other  taxes  .  .  .  . ;  and  the  said  fund  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  school  districts  of 
the  county  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  public  schools  of  the 

respective  districts There  shall  be  assessed  upon  all  taxable  polls  in  the  state 

between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  sixty  years  (excepting  Confederate  soldiers  above  the 
age  of  fifty  years),  an  annual  tax  of  one  dollar  on  each  poll,  the  proceeds  of  which  tax  shall 
be  expended  for  school  purposes  in  the  several  school  districts  in  which  it  is  collected. 

And  from  and  after  the  thirty-first  day  of  December,  in  the  year  1898,  the  General 


53  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

Assembly  shall  cause  to  be  levied  annually  on  all  the  taxable  property  of  the  state  such  a 
tax,  in  addition  to  the  said  tax  levied  by  the  said  county  boards  of  commissioners,  or 
similar  officers,  and  poll  tax  above  provided,  as  may  be  necessary  to  keep  the  schools  open 
thruout  the  state  for  such  length  of  time  in  each  scholastic  year  as  the  General  Assembly 

may  prescribe Any  school  district  may  by  the  authority  of  the  General  Assembly 

levy  an  additional  tax  for  the  support  of  its  schools 

All  the  net  income  to  be  derived  by  the  state  from  the  sale  or  b'cense  for  the  sale  of 
spirituous,  malt,  vinous  and  intoxicating  liquors  and  beverages,  not  including  so  much 
thereof  as  is  now  or  may  hereafter  be  allowed  by  law  to  go  to  the  counties  and  municipal 
corporations  of  the  state,  shall  be  applied  annually  in  the  aid  of  the  supplementary  taxes 
provided  for  in  the  sixth  section  of  this  article;  and,  if  after  said  application  there  should 
be  a  surplus,  it  shall  be  devoted  to  public  school  purposes 

Georgia. — There  shall  be  a  thoro  system  of  common  schools  for  the  education  of 
children  in  the  elementary  branches  of  an  English  education  only,  as  nearly  uniform  as 
practicable,  the  expenses  of  which  shall  be  provided  for  by  taxation  or  otherwise.  The 
schools  shall  be  free  to  all  children  of  the  state,  but  separate  schools  shall  be  provided  for 
the  white  and  colored  races. 

The  poll  tax,  any  educational  fund  now  belonging  to  the  state  (except  the  endowment 
and  debt  due  to  the  University  of  Georgia),  a  special  tax  on  shows  and  exhibitions,  and  on 
the  sale  of  spirituous  and  malt  liquors,  which  the  General  Assembly  is  hereby  authorized 
to  assess,  and  the  proceeds  of  any  commutation  tax  for  military  service,  and  all  taxes  that 
may  be  assessed  on  such  domestic  animals  as,  from  their  nature  and  habits,  are  destructive 
to  other  property,  are  hereby  set  apart  and  devoted  for  the  support  of  common  schools. 

Authority  may  be  granted  to  counties  and  school  districts,  upon  the  recommendation 
of  the  grand  jury,  and  to  municipal  corporations  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  corporate 
authority  to  establish  and  maintain  public  schools  in  their  respective  limits,  by  local  taxa- 
tion; but  as  no  such  local  laws  shall  take  effect  until  the  same  shall  have  been  submitted 
to  a  vote  of  the  qualified  voters  in  each  county,  district,  or  municipal  corporation,  and 
approved  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  persons  voting  at  such  election;  and  the  General 
Assembly  may  prescribe  who  shall  vote  on  such  question. 

Florida. — Each  county  shall  be  required  to  assess  and  collect  annually  for  the  support 
of  free  schools  therein  a  tax  of  not  less  than  three  mills  nor  more  than  seven  mills  on  the 
dollar  of  all  taxable  property  in  the  same. 

The  county  sch  ol  fund  shall  consist,  in  addition  to  the  tax  provided  for  in  section 
eight  of  this  article,  of  the  proportion  of  the  interest  of  the  state  school  fund  and  of  the 
one-mill  state  tax  apportionment  to  the  county;  the  net  proceeds  of  all  fines  collected 
under  the  penal  laws  of  the  state  within  the  county;  all  capitation  taxes  collected  within 
the  county;  and  shall  be  disbursed  by  the  county  board  of  public  instruction  solely  for  the 
maintenance  and  support  of  public  free  schools. 

A  special  tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dollar  of  all  taxable  property  in  the  state,  in  addition 
to  the  other  means  provided,  shall  be  levied  and  apportioned  annually  for  the  support 
and  maintenance  of  public  free  schools. 

The  legislature  may  provide  for  the  division  of  any  county  or  counties  into  convenient 
school  districts;  and  for  the  election  biennially  of  three  school  trustees,  who  shall  hold 
their  office  for  two  years,  and  who  shall  have  supervision  of  all  the  schools  within  the 
district;  and  for  the  levying  and  collection  of  a  district  school  tax,  for  the  exclusive  use  of 
public  free  schools  within  the  district,  whenever  a  majority  of  the  qualified  electors  thereof 
that  pay  a  tax  on  real  or  personal  properly,  shall  vote  in  favor  of  such  levy;  Provided, 
That  any  tax  authorized  by  this  section  shall  not  exceed  three  mills  on  the  dollar  in  any 
one  year  on  the  taxable  property  of  the  district. 

Any  incorporated  town  or  city  may  constitute  a  school  district.  The  fund  raised  by 
section  ten  may  be  expended  in  the  district  where  levied  for  building  or  repairing  school- 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  53 

houses,  for  the  purchase  of  school  libraries  and  textbooks,  for  salaries  of  teachers,  or  other 
educational  purposes,  so  that  the  distribution  among  all  the  schools  of  the  district  be 
equitable. 

Alabama. — The  legislature  shall  establish,  organize,  and  maintain  a  liberal  system  of 
public  schools  thruout  the  state  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  thereof  between  the  ages 
of  seven  and  twenty-one  years.  The  public  school  fund  shall  be  apportioned  to  the 
several  counties  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  children  of  school  age  therein,  and  shall 
be  so  apportioned  to  the  schools  in  the  districts  or  townships  in  the  county  as  to  provide, 
as  nearly  as  practicable,  school  terms  of  equal  duration  in  such'  districts  or  townships. 
Separate  schools  shall  be  provided  for  white  and  colored  children,  and  no  child  of  either 
race  shall  be  permitted  to  attend  a  school  of  the  other  race. 

The  principal  of  all  funds  arising  from  the  sale  or  other  disposition  of  lands  or  other 
property,  which  has  been  or  may  hereafter  be  granted  or  entrusted  to  this  state  or  given 
by  the  United  States  for  educational  purposes  shall  be  preserved  inviolate  and  undi- 
minished;  and  the  increase  arising  therefrom  shall  be  faithfully  applied  to  the  specific 
object  of  the  original  grants  or  appropriations.  All  lands  or  other  property  given  by 
individuals,  or  appropriated  by  the  state  for  educational  purposes,  and  all  estates  of 
deceased  persons  who  die  without  leaving  any  will  or  heir  shall  be  faithfully  applied 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  public  schools.  All  poll  taxes  collected  in  this  state  shall  be 
applied  to  the  support  of  the  public  schools  in  the  respective  counties  where  collected. 

The  income  arising  from  the  sixteenth  section  trust  fund,  the  surplus  revenue  fund, 
until  it  is  called  for  by  the  United  States  government,  and  the  funds  enumerated  in 
sections  257  and  258  of  this  constitution,  together  with  a  special  annual  tax  of  thirty 
cents  on  each  one  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  property  in  this  state,  which  the  legislature 
shall  levy,  shall  be  applied  to  the  support  and  maintenance  of  the  public  schools,  and  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  increase  the  public  school  fund  from  time  to  time, 
as  the  necessity,  therefor  and  the  condition  of  the  treasury  and  the  resources  of  the  state 
may  justify;  Provided,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  author- 
ize the  legislature  to  levy  in  any  one  year  a  greater  rate  of  state  taxation  for  all  purposes, 
including  schools,  than  sixty-five  cents  on  each  one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  taxable 
property. 

Not  more  than  4  per  cent,  of  all  moneys  raised,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  appro- 
priated for  the  support  of  public  schools,  shall  be  used  or  expended  otherwise  than 
for  the  payment  of  teachers  employed  in  such  schools;  Provided,  that  the  legislature 
may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  house,  suspend  the  operation  of  this  section.  .  .  . 

The  several  counties  of  this  state  shall  have  power  to  levy  and  collect  a  special  tax 
not  exceeding  ten  cents  on  each  one  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  property  in  such  coun- 
ties, for  the  support  of  public  schools;  Provided,  that  the  rate  of  such  tax,  the  time  it  is 
to  continue,  and  the  purpose  thereof,  shall  have  been  first  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the 
qualified  electors  of  the  county,  and  voted  for  by  three-fifths  of  those  voting  at  such 
elections;  but  the  rate  of  such  special  tax  shall  not  increase  the  rate  of  taxation,  state 
and  county  combined,  in  any  one  year,  to  more  than  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
on  each  one  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  property;  excluding,  however,  all  special  county 
taxes 

Mississippi. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  encourage,  by  all  suitable 
means,  the  promotion  of  intellectual,  scientific,  moral,  and  agricultural  improvement,  by 
establishing  a  uniform  system  of  free  public  schools,  by  taxation  or  otherwise,  for  all  the 
children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one  years,  and,  as  soon  as  practicable,  to 
establish  schools  of  higher  grade.  A  public  school  shall  be  maintained  in  each  school 
district  in  the  county  at  least  four  months  during  the  scholastic  year.  A  school  district 
neglecting  to  maintain  its  school  four  months,  shall  be  entitled  to  only  such  part  of  the 
free  school  fund  as  may  be  required  to  pay  the  teacher  for  the  time  actually  taught. 


54  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

There  shall  be  a  common  school  fund,  which  shall  consist  of  the  poll  tax  (to  be  retained 
in  the  counties  where  the  same  is  collected)  and  an  additional  sum  from  the  general  fund 
in  the  state  treasury,  which  together  shall  be  sufficient  to  maintain  the  common  schools 
for  the  term  of  four  months  in  each  scholastic  year.  But  any  county  or  separate  school 
district  may  levy  an  additional  tax  to  maintain  its  schools  longer  than  four  months. 

Louisiana. — There  shall  be  free  public  schools  ....  for  the  education  of  all  the 

children  of  the  state  between  the  ages  of  six  and  eighteen  years All  funds  raised 

by  the  state  for  the  support  of  the  public  schools,  except  the  poll  tax,  shall  be  distributed 
to  each  parish  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  children  therein  between  the  ages  of  six 
and  eighteen  years 

The  funds  derived  from  the  collection  of  the  poll  tax  shall  be  applied  exclusively  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  public  schools  as  organized  under  this  constitution,  and  shall  be 
applied  exclusively  to  the  support  of  the  public  schools  in  the  parish  in  which  the  same 
shall  be  collected,  and  shall  be  accounted  for  and  paid  by  the  collecting  officer  directly 
to  the  treasurer  of  the  local  school  board. 

The  school  funds  of  the  state  shall  consist  of:  First,  Not  less  than  one  and  one- 
quarter  mills  of  the  six-mill  tax  levied  and  collected  by  the  state.  Second,  The  proceeds 
of  taxation  for  school  purposes  as  provided  by  this  constitution.  Third,  The  interets  on 
the  proceeds  of  all  public  lands  heretofore  granted  or  to  be  granted  by  the  United  States 
for  the  support  of  the  public  schools,  and  the  revenue  derived  from  such  lands  as  may  still 
remain  unsold.  Fourth,  Of  lands  and  other  property  heretofore  or  hereafter  bequeathed 
granted,  or  donated  to  the  state  for  school  purposes.  Fifth,  All  funds  and  property,  other 
than  unimproved  lands,  bequeathed  or  granted  to  the  state,  not  designated  for  any  other 
purpose.  Sixth,  The  proceeds  of  va.cant  estates  falling  under  the  law  to  the  state  of 
Louisiana.  Seventh,  The  legislature  may  appropriate  to  the  same  fund  the  proceeds  of 
public  lands,  not  designated  or  set  apart  for  any  other  purpose,  and  shall  provide  that 
every  parish  may  levy  a  tax  for  the  public  schools  therein,  which  shall  not  exceed  the 
entire  state  tax;  Provided,  That  with  such  a  tax  the  whole  amount  of  parish  taxes  shall 
not  exceed  the  limits  of  parish  taxation  fixed  by  this  constitution 

The  General  Assembly  shall  levy  an  annual  poll  tax  of  one  dollar  upon  every  male 
inhabitant  in  the  state  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  sixty  years,  for  the  maintenance 
of  public  schools  in  parishes  where  collected. 

The  state  tax  on  property  for  all  purposes  whatever,  including  expense  of  government, 
schools,  levees,  and  interest,  shall  not  exceed,  in  any  one  year,  six  mills  on  the  dollar  of 
its  assessed  valuation,  and  except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  constitution,  no  parish, 
municipal,  or  public  board  tax  for  all  purposes  whatsoever,  shall  exceed  in  any  one  year, 
ten  mills  on  the  dollar  valuation;  Provided,  That  for  giving  additional  support  to  public 
schools,  and  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  and  constructing  public  buildings,  public  school- 
houses,  bridges,  wharves,  levees,  sewerage  work,  and  other  works  of  permanent  public 
improvement,  the  title  to  which  shall  be  in  the  public,  any  parish,  municipal  corporation, 
ward,  or  school  district  may  levy  a  special  tax  in  excess  of  said  limitation,  whenever  the 
rate  of  such  increase  and  the  number  of  years  it  is  to  be  levied  and  the  purposes  for  which 
the  tax  is  intended,  shall  have  been  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  property  taxpayers  of  such 
parish,  municipality,  ward,  or  school  district  entitled  to  vote  under  the  election  laws  of 
the  state,  and  a  majority  of  the  same  in  number  and  in  value  voting  at  such  election 
shall  have  voted  therefor. 

Texas. — All  funds,  lands,  and  other  property  heretofore  set  apart  and  appropriated 
for  the  support  of  public  schools,  all  the  alternate  sections  of  lands  reserved  by  the  state 
out  of  grants  heretofore  made,  or  that  may  hereafter  be  made,  to  railroads  or  other  cor- 
porations of  any  nature  whatsoever,  one-half  of  the  public  domain  of  the  state,  and  all 
sums  of  money  that  may  come  to  the  state  from  the  sale  of  any  portion  of  the  same  shall 
constitute  a  perpetual  public  school  fund. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  55 

One-fourth  of  the  revenue  derived  from  the  state  occupation  taxes,  and  a  poll  tax  of 
one  dollar  on  every  male  inhabitant  of  this  state  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  sixty 
years,  shall  be  set  apart  annually  for  the  benefit  of  public  free  schools,  and  in  addition 
thereto  there  shall  be  levied  and  collected  an  annual  ad  valorem  state  tax  of  such  an  amount, 
not  to  exceed  20  cents  on  the  $100  valuation,  as,  with  the  available  school  fund  arising 
from  all  other  sources,  will  be  sufficient  to  maintain  and  support  the  public  free  schools 
of  this  state  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  six  months  in  each  year;  and  the  legislature  may 
also  provide  for  the  formation  of  school  districts  within  all  or  any  of  the  counties  of  this 
state  by  general  or  special  laws  ....  and  may  authorize  an  additional  annual  ad  valorem 
tax  to  be  levied  and  collected  within  such  school  districts  for  the  further  maintenance  of 
the  public  free  schools,  and  the  erection  of  school  buildings  therein.  Provided,  That 
two-thirds  of  the  qualified  property  tax-paying  voters  of  the  district,  voting  at  an  election 
to  be  held  for  that  purpose,  shall  vote  such  tax,  not  to  exceed  in  any  one  year  20  cents 
on  the  $100  valuation  of  the  property  subject  to  taxation  in  such  district;  but  the  limita- 
tion upon  the  amount  of  district  tax  herein  authorized  shall  not  apply  to  incorporated 
cities  or  towns  constituting  separate  and  independent  school  districts. 

.Arkansas. — The  General  Assembly  shall  provide,  by  general  laws,  for  the  support 
of  common  schools  by  taxes,  which  shall  never  exceed  in  any  one  year  two  mills  on  the 
dollar  on  the  taxable  property  of  the  state;  and  by  an  annual  per  capita  tax  of  one  dollar, 
to  be  assessed  on  every  male  inhabitant  of  this  state  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 
Provided,  That  the  General  Assembly  may,  by  general  law,  authorize  school  district's  to 
levy  by  a  vote  of  the  qualified  electors  of  such  districts,  a  tax  not  to  exceed  five  mills  on  the 
dollar  in  any  one  year  for  school  purposes. 

Tennessee. — Knowledge,  learning,  and  virtue  being  essential  to  the  preservation  of 
republican  institutions,  and  the  diffusion  of  the  opportunities  and  advantages  of  education 
thruout  the  different  portions  of  the  state  being  highly  conducive  to  the  promotion  of 
this  end,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly,  in  all  future  periods  of  this  govern- 
ment, to  cherish  literature  and  science.  And  the  fund  called  the  common  school  fund, 
and  all  the  lands  and  proceeds  thereof,  dividends,  stocks,  and  other  property  of  every 
description  whatever,  heretofore  by  law  appropriated  by  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
state  for  the  use  of  common  schools,  and  all  such  as  shall  hereafter  be  appropriated,  shall 
remain  a  perpetual  fund,  the  principal  of  which  shall  never  be  diminished  by  legislative 
appropriation;  and  the  interest  thereof  shall  be  inviolably  appropriated  to  the  support 
and  encouragement  of  common  schools  thruout  the  state,  and  for  the  equal  benefit 
of  all  people  thereof;  and  no  law  shall  be  made  authorizing  said  fund  or  any  part  thereof 
to  be  diverted  to  any  other  use  than  the  support  and  encouragement  of  common  schools. 
The  state  taxes  derived  hereafter  from  polls  shall  be  appropriated  to  educational  purposes, 
in  such  manner  as  the  General  Assembly  shall,  from  time  to  time,  direct  by  law 

SUMMARY  OF  SCHOOL  TAXATION  LAWS 

Virginia. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  18  cents  on  each  $100  valuation 
of  all  property  and  $1.00  on  each  poll  over  twenty-one  years  of  age.  The  supervisors  of 
any  county  may  levy  as  much  as  50  cents  on  each  $100  valuation  of  all  property  and  $1.00 
on  each  poll,  additional  to  the  general  state  tax  for  schools.  The  same  authority  as  to 
additional  taxation  may  be  exercised  by  the  town  and  the  school  district,  thru  their  proper 
officials. 

North  Carolina. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  18  cents  on  each  $100 
valuation  of  property  and  $1.50  on  each  poll  between  twenty-one  and  fifty  years  of  age. 
Towns,  cities,  and  school  districts  may  levy,  by  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  registered 
voters,  an  additional  tax  of  as  much  as  30  cents  on  each  $100  valuation  of  property  and 
90  cents  on  each  poll.  By  special  statute  towns  and  cities  may  acquire  the  right  to  levy 
as  high  a  local  school  tax  as  a  majority  of  the  registered  voters  will  favor. 


56  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

South  Carolina. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  30  cents  on  each  $100  valua- 
tion of  property  and  $1.00  on  each  poll  between  twenty-one  and  sixty  years  of  age.  The 
school  authorities,  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  taxpayers  of  any  district,  may  levy  as  much 
as  40  cents  on  each  $100,  additional  to  the  state  levy. 

Georgia. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  17  J  cents  on  each  $100  valuation 
of  all  property,  and  $1.00  on  each  poll.  Any  county,  school  district,  or  municipality, 
by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  those  voting  may  levy  an  additional  tax  for  schools. 

Florida. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  10  cents  on  each  $100  valuation  of 
property  and  $1.00  on  each  poll.  Each  county,  in  addition,  must  levy  as  much  as  30 
cents  on  each  $100  valuation  of  property  and  may  levy  as  much  as  70  cents.  By  a  majority 
vote  of  the  qualified  voters  of  any  school  district  as  much  as  30  cents  on  each  $100  valuation 
of  property  may  be  levied  as  a  local  district  tax,  in  addition  to  the  state  and  county  school 
taxes  already  mentioned. 

Mississippi. — The  state  has  no  general  school  tax  as  such.  There  are  few  limitations 
on  counties  and  towns  as  to  levying  school  taxes.  The  constitution  says  the  poll  tax  and 
an  additional  sum  from  the  state  treasury  shall  be  sufficient  to  maintain  the  public  schools 
four  months  in  each  year.  The  counties  and  any  town  may,  through  the  proper  officers, 
levy  an  additional  tax  of  30  cents  on  each  $100  valuation  of  property.  If  any  higher  tax 
is  desired  to  be  levied,  the  people  must  decide  the  amount  of  the  tax  by  a  majority 
vote. 

Alabama. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  30  cents  on  each  $100  valuation 
of  property  and  $1.00  on  each  poll.  Counties  may,  by  a  three-fifths  majority  of  those 
voting  at  an  election  called  for  the  purpose,  levy  an  additional  tax  of  10  cents  on  each 
$100  valuation  of  property,  provided  the  additional  levy  does  not  make  the  state  and 
county  tax  within  the  year  more  than  $1.25  on  each  $100  valuation  of  property.  Cities 
and  towns  may  levy  such  local  school  taxes  as  their  charters  permit. 

Louisiana. — Any  parish  (county),  municipality,  ward  (township),  or  school  district 
by  a  majority  vote  of  the  property,  may  levy  any  amount  of  local  tax  for  schools.  There 
is  no  limitation.  The  state  levies  a  general  tax  of  20  cents  on  each  $100  of  property. 

Texas. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  18  cents  on  each  $100  valuation  of 
property  and  $1.00  on  each  poll.  School  districts,  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  the  property 
tax-paying  voters,  may  levy  an  additional  tax  of  20  cents  on  each  $100  valuation  of  prop- 
erty, incorporated  cities  and  towns  and  independent  districts  may  levy  such  local  school 
taxes  as  their  charters  permit. 

Arkansas. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  20  cents  on  each  $100  valuation 
of  all  property  and  $1.00  on  each  poll.  Any  school  district  in  its  annual  district  school 
meeting,  composed  of  the  qualified  voters  of  the  school  district,  may  levy  as  much  as  50 
cents  additional  on  each  $100  valuation  of  all  property. 

Tennessee. — The  state  levies  a  general  school  tax  of  15  cents  on  each  $100  valuation 
of  all  property  and  $1.00  on  each  poll.  The  county,  thru  its  county  court,  may  levy 
an  addtional  school  tax  on  each  $100  valuation  of  all  property,  amounting  in  the  aggregate 
to  the  sum  of  the  whole  state  and  county  tax  for  all  purposes,  and  an  additional  poll  tax 
of  $1.00  on  each  poll.  A  county  high-school  tax  of  as  much  as  15  cents  may  be  levied. 
This  tax  is  additional  to  any  taxes  mentioned  above.  Incorporated  towns  may  levy  such 
special  local  school  taxes  as  their  charters  permit. 

COMPARATIVE  RECEIPTS   FOR   SCHOOLS 

Remembering  the  facts  disclosed  by  the  preceding  tables,  it  will  be  inter- 
esting to  see  how  much  North  Carolina  is  doing  in  the  matter  of  raising 
funds  for  education. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


57 


N.  C.  Receipts  for  Schools    U.  S.  Receipts  for  Schools 
(ioo3-'o4)  (i9oi-'o2) 

$249,374,659 
94,300,000,000 

.00263 

a  little  over  26  cents 
(no  data) 
(no  data) 


Total  receipts $1,927,417 

Property  (estimated) 847,015,094 

Raised  for  each  dollar  estimated  valuation...  .00227 

Raised  for  each  $100  estimated  valuation .  . .  nearly  23  cents 

Raised  for  each  dollar  assessed  valuation ...  .  00444 

Raised  for  each  $100  assessed  valuation. . . .  nearly  45  cents 

The  figures  for  North  Carolina  do  not  include  the  local  taxes  levied  in 
about  1 80  districts.  If  the  true  amount  of  these  taxes  could  be  added  to  the 
above  receipts  for  North  Carolina,  the  result  would  doubtless  show  that  North 
Carolina  is  now  raising  on  every  dollar  of  true  valuation  as  much  as  is  being 
raised  in  the  country  at  large,  though  her  per  capita  ability,  in  1900,  would 
indicate  that  only  about  one-third  as  much  could  be  raised  for  schools  by  an 
equal  amount  of  taxation  as  could  be  raised  in  the  country  at  large.  It  should 
be  remembered,  however,  that  the  assessed  valuation  of  property  in  North 
Carolina  is  not  $847,015,094,  but  $433,687,809,  about  one-half  the  value 
estimated  above,  based  on  an  increase  of  45  per  cent,  between  1890  and  1900. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  the  present  true  valuation  of  all  the  property  of  North 
Carolina  is  as  much  as  $847,015,094,  because  North  Carolina  property  hardly 
increased  as  much  as  45  per  cent,  in  true  valuation  between  1890  and  1900. 

The  table  which  follows,  however,  will  show  the  present  method  of  raising 
school  funds  in  North  Carolina  and  the  relation  of  such  taxation  to  all  other 
taxation,  local  taxes  for  schools  not  being  included: 


PROPERTY    VALUATION    AND    GENERAL    SCHOOL 

CAROLINA   IN    1903 


TAXES     LEVIED     BY    NORTH 


PROPERTY  AND  POLLS* 


201,276 

7  *  #3° 

729 

273>835 


SCHOOL  TAXES  LEVIED 

On  white  polls $301,346.77 

On  negro  polls 107,355.82 

On  Indian  polls I>°93  5° 

Total  taxes  on  polls 409,796.09 

On  railroads,  etc 127,212 .05 

On  corporation  excess 10,319.50 

On  bank  stock 15,663.96 

On  building  and  loan  stock. .  1,418. 10 

On  white  propetry 599,811 .05 

On  Indian  property 902 . 16 

On  negro  property 25,477  •  i° 

On  dogs 155.00 

On  liquor  dealers  (ist  class)  ..  74,832.91 

On  liquor  dealers  (2nd  class)..  4,750.00 

On  liquor  dealers  (3rd  class) . .  i  ,050 .  oc 

On  druggists'  liquor  license.  . .  587 . 50 

On  social  clubs'  license 216.00 

On  grain  distilleries 2,512.58 

Fines,  etc.. .    20,122. 14 

Other  sources .  i  ,998 . 08 

Total  school  taxes  levied 1,296,824.22 

*The  poll  tax  levied  on  each  male  between  21  and  so  years  of  age  must  be  the  same  as  the  property  tax 
on  $300  worth  of  property. 


White  polls 

Negro  polls 

Indian  polls 

Total  polls 

Railroad,  telegraph,  tele- 
phone, etc $70,633,352.11 

Corporation  excess 5>733,°99  -93 

Bank  stock 8,702,238.00 

Building  and  loan  stock  . .  .         787,838.46 

White  property 332,978,471.00 

Indian  property 513,409.00 

Negro  property 14,339,402 .00 

Value  of  listed  property.. .  .347,831,282.00 
Value  of  all  property 433,687,809.50 


58  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

The  above  figures  are  compiled  from  the  latest  report  of  the  State  Auditor 
of  North  Carolina.  The  valuation  of  property  is  the  assessed  valuation,  which 
is  considered  to  be  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  true  valuation. 

TOTAL  TAXES  LEVIED  BY  NORTH  CAROLINA  IN  1903 

State  taxes  (state  government,  pensions,  etc.) $1,120,644.88 

County  taxes  (county  purposes,  poor,  etc.) 2,127,456.88 

School  taxes  (general,  not  including  local) 1,296,824. 22 


Total  taxes  levied $4,544,925.98 

The  above  table  shows  that  the  general  school  taxes  in  1903  were  in  excess 
of  all  the  taxes  levied  for  the  maintenance  of  the  state  government  by  $176,- 
179.34,  and  that  the  general  school  taxes  of  the  state,  excluding  local  taxes  in 
230  towns  and  local  tax  districts  amounting  to  about  $400,000  more  annually, 
were  29  per  cent,  of  all  the  taxes  levied  in  the  state  for  the  year  1903. 

OTHER  STATE  SUPPORT  OF   SCHOOLS 

Besides  the  taxes  already  referred  to  as  levied  and  spent  for  schools,  the 
state  of  North  Carolina  expends  annually  the  following  sums  for  education 
out  of  the  general  revenues  of  the  state: 

University  of  North  Carolina $  45,000 

State  Normal  and  Industrial  College  (for  white  women) 45,ooo 

A.  &  M.  College  (white)* 15,000 

A.  &  M.  College  (colored)* 7)5°° 

Colored  Normal  Schools 14,50° 

Cullowhee  High  School 2,000 

Appalachian  Training  School 2,000 

School  for  Deaf  and  Dumb  (Morganton) 60,000 

School  for  Blind,  Deaf  and  Dumb  (Raleigh) 42,500 

Special  appropriation  for  public  schools 200,000 

$433.5°° 

In  addition  to  the  above  annual  appropriations  the  state  expends  annually 
large  sums  for  permanent  improvements  at  the  several  institutions  named. 

PERCENTAGE    OF    STATE    TAXES    DEVOTED    TO    SCHOOLS   IN   NORTH    CAROLINA 

Total  amount  of  state,  school,  and  county  taxes $4,544,925 .98 

Total  amount  devoted  to  schools 1,730,324. 22 

Percentage  of  taxes  devoted  to  schools 38  per  cent. 

Percentage  of  taxes  devoted  to  all  other  purposes,  county  and  state .  .      62  per  cent. 
The  local  school  taxes  of  cities,  towns  and  local  tax  districts  are  not  included 
in   the  above  calculations. 


PART   III.   RESULTS   OF  TWENTY  YEARS'  PROGRESS  IN  DECREASING 

ILLITERACY 

The  following  pages  contain  a  comparative  statement  of  the  results  achieved 
in  decreasing  illiteracy  in  North  Carolina,  in  the  South,  and  in  the  country  at 
large  during  the  twenty  years  between  1880  and  1900. 

*Funds  from  U.  S.  Government  not  included. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


59 


NORTH  CAROLINA  POPULATION,  1870-1900 
(Black  and  White) 


1870 

1880 

1890 

1900 

North  Carolina. 
Total  Population  •.  

White  

Colored  

Percentage  total  populaton: 
White    

61  06 

66  7 

•>6  67 

16 

Compare  with  United  States. 

38,558,371 

White              

66  900  788 

Percentage  of  population: 
White  

87.2 

86.54 

87  81 

87  8 

Colored  

12  8 

INCREASE— SUMMARY  FOR  30  YEARS— COMPARISON,  1870-1900 


North  Carolina 

United  States 

76.76 
86.24 
60.40 

97.89 
99.44 
87.41 

Percentage  increase  in  white  population  

GENERAL  ILLITERACY,  1870-1900 

1870* 

1880 

1800 

IOOO 

North  Carolina. 
Total  population  10  years  of  age  and  over  
White  

769,629 

950,951 
608,806 

1,147,446 

1,342,669 

Colored  

386  251 

White  

Colored  

Percentage  of  illiteracy  

51.67 

4^-3 

28.7 

White  

84  62 

47  6 

Compare  with  United  States. 
Total  population  10  years  of  age  and  over  
White  

28,228,945 

36,761.607 

47,413,559 

57,949,824 

6  698  006 

6,180  069 

White  

2,868  455 

Colored  

2,789,689 

3,220  878 

White  

7  66 

6  2 

Colored  

56  76 

DECREASE  IN  ILLITERACY  FOR  TWENTY  YEARS,  COMPARISON— 1880-1900 


- 

North  Carolina 

United  States 

181,666  (inc.) 

29.8 

*The  illiteracy  figures  for  1870  are  probably  quite  inaccurate.     Those  given  are  not,  therefore,  to  be 
relied  upon.     They  are  not  used  for  comparative  purposes. 


6o 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


1.  It  will  be  observed  from  the  above  tables  that  North    Carolina   has 
decreased  the  number  of  white  illiterates  16,125  m  tne  twenty  year?  between 
1880-1900,  while  in  the  country  at  large  the  number  of  white  illiterates  has 
actually  increased  181,666  during  the  same  period. 

2.  Note  that  North  Carolina,  in  twenty  years,  has  decreased  her  per- 
centage of  total  illiteracy  19.6,  while  the  percentage  of  decrease  for  the  whole 
country  was  only  6.27. 

3.  Observe  that  North  Carolina  has,  during  the  last  twenty  years,  decreased 
her  percentage  of  white  illiteracy  12.0,  while  she  has  decreased  her  colored 
illiteracy  29.8.     The  country  at  large  decreased  its  percentage  of  white  illiter- 
acy only  3.19  and  its  percentage  of  colored  illiteracy  only  25.5,  during  the 
same  period. 

SEX  ILLITERACY,  1880-1900 


1880 

1800 

IOOO 

Decrease  in  20  years 

North  Carolina. 
Male  illiterates  10  years  of  age  and  over 
White  

213,106 

184,506 

181.228 

31  968,  or  15  per  cent. 

Colored        

108  780 

08  "jtf> 

Female  illiterates  10  years  of  age 

White  

Colored             .    .           

ii  608 

Compare  with  United  States. 
Male  illiterates  10  years  of  age  and  over 
White    

2,066,421 

3.008,222 

3,011,224 

44  803,  or  1.51  per  cent. 

Colored  .  .  .  •.  

1,555,616 

Female  illiterates  10  years  of  age  and 
over  

3,273,537 

3.316,480 

3.168.845 

White  

Colored  

1,621,628 

DECREASE  OF  SEX  ILLITERACY,   1880-1900— COMPARISON 


NORTH  ( 

CAROLINA 

UNITED 

STATES 

Decrease 

Decrease 
Per  cent. 

Decrease 

Decrease 
Per  cent. 

31  068 

White  

1.87 

II      OS1 

18  2 

White  

25  318 

Colored      

21    8 

7    8 

SCHOOL  AGE  ILLITERACY,  1880-1900 


1880 

l8pO 

1900 

Decrease 

North  Carolina 
Total  illiterates,  10  to  20,  inclusive.  ... 
White             

173.386 

118,000 

105.004 

68,^82,  or  39.4  per  cent. 

Colored  

68  521 

55,388 

Compare  with  United  States. 

White        

Colored  

1,072,978 

791,131 

222,984  or  20.  7  per  cent. 

Increase. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


6l 


DECREASE  IN  SCHOOL  AGE  ILLITERACY.  1880-1000 


NORTH  ( 

CAROLINA 

UNITED 

STATES 

Decrease 

Decrease 
Per  cent. 

Decrease 

Decrease 
Per  cent. 

68  382 

35-7 

White               .           

513  568 

Colored  

Notwithstanding  the  above  record,  it  will  be  observed  that,  in  1900,  27.6 
per  cent,  of  the  white  illiterate  population  of  North  Carolina  ten  years  of  age 
and  over  was  composed  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  twenty-one, 
and  that  26.3  per  cent,  of  the  colored  illiterate  population  ten  years  of  age  and 
over  was  composed  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  twenty-one. 

ADDITIONAL   FACTS   ABOUT  NORTH   CAROLINA — POPULATION    IQOO 

1.  In  1900,  North  Carolina  had  347  incorporated  towns,  but  only  338,277 
persons  resided  in  those  towns.     As  many  as  281  of  those  towns  had  less  than 
1,000  inhabitants  each. 

2.  In  1900,  only  17.9  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the  state  resided  in 
towns,  which  means  that  82.1  per  cent,  of  the  population  was  wholly  rural. 

3.  In  1900,  North  Carolina  had  no  town  of  25,000  inhabitants.     She  had 
only  seven  towns  with  a  population  larger  than  8,000.     These  seven  towns 
had  an  aggregate  population  of  96,  537  only. 

4.  In  the  entire  South  21.6  per  cent,  of  the  population  resided  in  incor- 
porated towns,  while  in  the  country  at  large  47.1  per  cent,  of  the  population 
resided  in  incorporated  towns,  in  1900. 

5.  In  1900,  in  the  entire  South  there  were  only  twenty-one  towns  having 
a  population  of  25,000  and  over.     Mississippi  and  North  Carolina  had  no 
such  towns.     In  the  entire  South  there  were  only  forty-nine  other  towns  with  a 
population  over  8,000. 

6.  In  1900,  North  Carolina  had  only  thirty-nine  people  for  each  square 
mile  of  territory.     She  has  a  land  area  of  48,580  square  miles  and  a  water  area 
of  3,670  square  miles.     In  the  entire  South  the  population  for  each  square 
mile  in  1900  was  only  25.6. 

The  above  facts  render  the  problem  of  universal  education  a  most  difficult 
one,  taking  no  consideration  of  the  small  per  capita  wealth  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  children  to  be  educated,  and  the  double  school  system  for  the 
two  races. 

SOME  ADDITIONAL  ILLITERACY   FACTS 

i.  The  following  states  and  territories,  from  1880  to  1900,  increased  their 
number  of  illiterates  ten  years  of  age  and  over  and  some  of  them  increased 
their  percentage  of  illiteracy: 


62 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


States 

Illiterates  in  1880 

Illiterates  in  1000 

Increase 

Maine  

6  890 

New  Hampshire  

1C  8*7 

Massachusetts  

Rhode  Island  

Connecticut  

New  York  

New  Jersey  

86658 

PMinyslvania  ..........  ........»,,... 

Florida  

80  183 

84  285 

Illinois  

Michigan  

80  482 

CC.CCH 

l8  221 

Nebraska  

II  528 

Louisiana  

318  380 

Montana  

9068 

Wyoming  

ceo 

2  878 

Colorado  

17  779 

7-3°S 

Arizona  

5*842 

S?6 

Idaho  

I  778 

3889 

8^51 

Oregon  

10686 

California  

58  959 

5  529 

Total  increase  1880—1000  

489,613 

2.   The  following  states  and  territories  have  increased  their  percentage 
of  illiteracy  since  1880: 

Maine,  from  4.3  per  cent,  in  1880  to  5.1  per  cent,  in  1900. 
Connecticut,  from  5.7  per  cent,  in  1880  to  5.9  per  cent,  in  1900. 
Montana,  from  5.3  per  cent,  in  1880  to  6.1  per  cent,  in  1900. 
Wyoming,  from  3.4  per  cent,  in  1880  to  4.0  per  cent,  in  1900. 
Arizona,  from  17.7  per  cent,  in  1880  to  29  per  cent,  in  1900. 
Nevada,  from  8  per  cent,  in  1880  to  13.3  per  cent,  in  1900. 
New  Hampshire,  from  5  per  cent,  in  1880  to  6.2  per  cent,  in  1900. 

The  following  table  shows  the  decrease  and  increase  in  percentage  of  illiter- 
acy 1 880-190x3,  for  the  principal  states  and  territories: 


1880 

1900 

Increase  or  decrease 
Per  cent. 

.8  increase 

6.2 

I  .2 

6.0 

5.8 

.2  decrease 

6.5 

5.9 

.6 

Rhode  Island  

8-4 

2.8 

5.7 

5-9 

.2  increase 

New  York   

.0  decrease 

6.2 

S-Q 

.3 

6.1 

I.O 

5-5 

ii.  i 

8.2 

18.8 

8.6 

IO    2 

32.9 

17.7 

11.4 

8.5 

North  Carolina  

48.-? 

28.7 

19.6 

35.9 

19.  5 

49  9 

30.5 

19.4 

21.9 

21.5 

Ohio                    

4.0 

i.  5 

7.5 

4.6 

2-0 

6.4 

4.2 

2.2 

5.2 

4.2 

I.O 

5.8 

4-  7 

I.  I 

6.2 

4.  1 

2.  I 

2.3 

1.6 

REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


1880 

1900 

Increase  or  decrease 
Per  cent. 

6.4 

3.6 

Kansas  

5.6 

Kentucky  

16.5 

Tennessee  

jS.?         . 

18.0         " 

Alabama  

Louisiana  

38.5 

Texas  

38.0 

17  6         " 

Montana  

5-3 

6.1 

6         " 

Colorado  

6.6 

New  Mexico  

65.0 

31  8         " 

Utah  

9-  1 

8.0 

Idaho  

7.  i 

4.6 

7.0 

California  

7.8 

4.8 

United  States  

63         " 

PART  IV.     TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  GENERAL  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS 

The  following  tables  are  intended  to  show  the  general  results  of  the  prog- 
ress of  public  education  in  North  Carolina  during  the  past  twenty-five  years, 
in  comparison  with  the  progress  of  the  country  at  large  for  an  almost  equal 
period,  so  far  as  concerns  important  particulars. 

TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS'  PROGRESS  OF  PUBLIC  EDUCATION  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA,  i87o-io<j4 


1879-80 

1889-90 

1899-1900 

I903-'04 

Per 
cent, 
inc. 

Rural 

City 

Total  d 

25 
yrs. 

White  children  (6-2  1)  

58 

Colored     "             "     
Total  population  

i67,SS4 

216,524 
586,668 

220,198 

223,370 

in  rural 

223,370 

33 

Enrollment  (white)   

116  689 

Total  enrollment  

Average  daily  attendance  (white).  .  . 
(colored)., 
(total)  

00,512 
57.290 
147,802 

134,108 
68.992 
203,100 
4  893 

142,413 
64-505 
206,9l8 

I7Q-435 
87,247 
266,682 

20,054 
7,i38 
27,192 

199,489 
94.385 
293.874 

I  2O 
65 
98 

2  488 

2   778 

2  3^8 

Number  white  schoolhouses  

84 

"       colored       "         "       

1,036 

1,820 

897 

877 

Total  value  property  

$852,706 

$555  882 

$2  188  231 

893 

6p 

83 

66a 

Av.  mo.  salary  rural  white  teachers.. 

$21.91 

$24.37 

$24.79 

Total  receipts  for  schools  

8523,555 
$352,383 

$721,756 
$718,226 

$T.Ol8,I44 

$I,S63i962 

$365,4556 

$1,929,417 
$1  885  398 

260 

Av.  an.  salary  Supt.  (or  Co.  Ex.)  .  .  . 

$10.71 

$195.45 

$506  .  63 

$978.00 

a  Rural  school  term  only. 

6  IxKal  taxes  in  cities  only.     The  local  taxes  in  rural  districts  have  not  been  ascertained. 

c  County  superintendents  only. 

d  These  figures  subject  to  correction. 

The  above  table  has  been  carefully  compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  several 
North  Carolina  state  superintendents  of  public  instruction.     The  table  above 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


and  the  one  following  will  show  what  North  Carolina  has  done  in  twenty-five 
years  in  public  education,  in  comparison  with  the  whole  country. 

TWENTY-TWO  YEARS'  PROGRESS  OF  PUBLIC  EDUCATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

1879-1901 


1870-188 

1880-1800 

1890-1000 

JOOI-IO02 

Percentage 
increase  in 
in  22  yrs. 

22  26l  86 

TC    O2  C    88-T 

61 

187 

Total  receipts  of  school  funds  

iS<; 

$78  094  687 

The  above  table  has  been  compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education. 

The  following  table  shows  the  educational  progress  made  in  North  Caro- 
lina during  the  four  years  1899-1800  to  1903-1904,  inclusive.  The  figures 
are  taken  from  the  reports  of  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction 
of  North  Carolina.  The  total  amount  raised  by  local  taxes  is  much  larger 
for  1903-1904  than  the  amount  given.  As  yet  the  local  taxes  raised  in  many 
rural  districts  are  not  reported.  The  total  amount  now  raised  is  not  less  than 
$400,000.  The  reported  amount  of  local  taxes  for  1903-1904  is  given  in  the 
table.  The  amount  of  local  taxes  for  1899-1900  is  estimated.  The  stimu- 
lating effect  of  the  rural  school  library  law  and  the  loan  fund  law  which  enables 
school  districts  to  borrow  money  with  which  to  build  schoolhouses  cannot 
be  shown  by  statistics.  « 

NORTH  CAROLINA  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  FROM  1899-1900  TO  1903-1904 


1899-1000 

1003-1004 

Increase  in 
four  years 

686  ,009 

26  380 

White  

89  48^ 

White  

Colored  

24  8*2 

Total  average  daily  attendance  

86  956 

White  

Colored  

29  880 

7)6  74 

White.                           

Colored  

2  488 

2,338 

6  918 

^16 

White         

$859  269 

Colored  

$258,295 

$S7  875 

$545  818 

877 

877 

$138  068 

a  Decrease. 

b  Rural  teachers.    Figures  in  above  table  subject  to  slight  correction 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


COMPARISON  OF  PROGRESS  FOR  22  AND  25  YEARS 


North  Carolina 

United  States 

School  population,  percent 
"     enrollment 
Average  daily  attendance 
Schoolhouses 
Value  of  school  property 
School  term 
Mo.  salary  of  teachers 
Receipts 
Expenditures 

age  incr 

49 
U7 
98 
848 

893 
66& 
33f 
269 
435 

43 
61 
79 
43 
187 

12 

47<* 
185 
20  1 

a  Whites  only;   colored  much  larger  (rural  schools). 
b  Rural  school  term  only. 


c  Rural  teachers  only  (white). 
d  Estimated  for  U.  S. 


PART  V.  -STATISTICS  RELATING  TO  EDUCATION,  1850-1860 

The  following  tables  will  give  some  insight  as  to  educational  conditions 
in  North  Carolina  and  the  South  and  in  the  country  at  large  1850-1860.  The 
figures  are  all  compiled  from  the  Census  Reports  of  1850  and  1860.  The 
illiteracy  figures  are  based  on  the  free  population  twenty  years  of  age  and 
over  and  not  on  the  whole  population  ten  years  of  age  and  over  as  has  been 
the  practice  of  the  census  enumeration  since  1860. 

The  following  table  shows  the  population  of  North  Carolina  and  the  United 
States,  from  1790  to  1860,  as  to  its  several  elements.  In  North  Carolina 
during  this  period  slaves  were  personal  property. 

POPULATION,  1790-1840 


i' 

9° 

i£ 

00 

North  Carolina 

United  States 

North  Carolina 

United  States 

Whites  

288  204 

Free  Negroes  

80    7 

81   i 

18 

10 

18 

20 

638  829 

6  8  i 

Whites  

•;  o!c    '   ,_ 

Slaves  

168  824 

j  538  o^g 

j  86  446 

Rank  of  North  Carolina  

67  76 

go  9 

65  62 

81  6 

18 

30 

18 

40 

Whites          

478  843 

81  9 

8*   i 

66 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


POPULATION,  i8Sc-i86o 


18 

SO 

18 

60 

2622 

Whites  

6 

288    548 

-  ,  ?  fr. 

i  158 

63     64 

84  3 

6*  46 

85  6 

The  following  table  gives  the  population  of  the  several  southern  states 
from  1790  to  1860,  also  the  relation  of  the  colored  population  to  the  white 
population. 

TOTAL  POPULATION  OF  THE  SOUTH  AND  PERCENTAGE  OF  THE  POPULATION  COLORED, 

1790-1860 


1790 

1800 

1810 

1820 

1830 

1840 

1850 

1860 

748  308 

880  :oo 

21661 

North  Carolina.  . 
South  Carolina.  . 

40.9 
393  7SI 
26.8 
240073 
43-7 
82  548 

4i-5 
478,103 
29-3 
34S-S9I 
43-2 

43-4 
555-500 
32-2 
4I5-H5 
48.4 

43-3 
638,829 
34-3 
502.741 
52-7 

42.6 

737987 
35-9 
581,185 
55-6 
516  823 

40.3 
753419 
35-6 
594398 
56-4 

37-o 
869.039 
36-3 
668.507 
58-9 

34-4 
992,622 
36-5 
703,708 
58.6 

35-9 

37-2 

42.3 

44-4 

42-5 

41.0 

42.4 

44-1 

48  7 

38  4 

8  850 

41.4 

42.9 

44.1 

48  4 

52-3 

Si-2 

55-3 

58.5 

Texas  

30   388 

ii.  8 

25  6 

United  States.... 

10.5 
3,929,827 
19-3 

13-1 
5.305925 
18.9 

17-5 
7,239,814 
19.1 

19.6 
9,638,131 
18.4 

21.4 
1  2  ,866  ,020 
18.1 

22.7 
17,069.453 
16.9 

24-5 
23,191,876 
15-7 

25.5 
31,443,321 
14.4 

.  ILLITERACY,  1850-1860 


18 

So 

18 

60 

N.  Carolina 

United  States 

N.  Carolina 

United  States 

308  895 

Total  illiterates  20  years  of  age  and  over  

389  664 

6  857 

6,849 

Percentage  illiterate  

8.8 

The  excess  of  female  over  male  illiterates  in  the  above  table  is  especially 
noticeable,  as  well  as  the  decrease  in  white  illiterates  in  North  Carolina  during 
the  ten  years  covered  by  the  table.  This  ten  years  was  the  period  of  the  great- 
est development  of  public  education  in  North  Carolina  prior  to  the  Civil 
War. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


67 


SOUTHERN  ILLITERACY  AND  ILLITERACY  ELSEWHERE,  1850-1860 


, 

iSso 
Free  popu- 
lation 
20  years  old 
and  over 

I8SO 

Illiterates 
20  years  old 
and  over 

1850 
Percentage 
illiterate 

1860 
Illiterates 
20  years  old 
and  over 

Virginia  

438  066 

88  s?o 

86  452 

North  Carolina  

South  Carolina  

12    8 

16  208 

Georgia  

Florida  

18.9 

Alabama  

18  9 

38  060 

Mississippi  

13.528 

Louisiana  

Texas  

68  358 

18  476 

Arkansas  

6s  .097 

Tennessee  

78,619 

Maine  

6.282 

8  598 

New  Hampshire  

180.554 

1.6 

Connecticut  

8833 

New  York  

98,722 

6.0 

i  "i,  878 

6.7 

Si  515 

Delaware  

Ohio  

64  828 

83  836 

8  916 

36  778 

37  5J8 

United  States  

PUBLIC  SCHOOL  STATISTICS,  1850-18 
(From  U.  S.  Census) 


1850 
Receipts 
for 
public 
schools 

1850 
White 
persons 
of 
school  age 

1850 
Enrolled 
in 
public 
schools 

1860 
Receipts 
from 
public 
schools 

1860 
Enrolled 
in 
public 

schools 

345,265 

$     498.638 

107,813 

17  838 

100,235 

215,091 

32,705 

56.087 

18,097 

1,878 

390.989 

176.657 

28,380 

489.474 

61,751 

267,821 

121  ,089 

18,746 

385,679 

362,412 

84,283 

25,046 

469.210 

31,813 

Texas  

94.554 

59,335 

414,168 

68.411 

200.253 

214.120 

104.117 

402  904 

138  809 

United  States               

$1,010,346 

303  920 

176,475 

$1.545,454 

1,486,423 

1,038.407 

675,221 

3  341,688 

697.283 

824  670 

413,706 

221  817 

Ohio     

751,576 

757.633 

484,153 

2,551,844 

161,500 

686,188 

356.416 

335.463 

125  725 

2,186,872 

113,874 

104,882 

58.817 

198  676 

220,340 

165,881 

77  930 

68 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


DETAILED  EDUCATIONAL  STATISTICS  FOR  NORTH  CAROLINA  AND  THE  UNITED 


i.   Public  schools. 


STATES,  1850 
(From  Census  of  1830) 


Number , 

Teachers , 

Pupils 

2.  Income  of  public  schools. 

From  endowment. . . , 

From  taxation 

From  public  funds. . , 
From  other  sources. . 

Total  funds 

3.  Private  schools. 

Number 

Teachers , 

Pupils 

4.  Income  o)  private  schools. 

From  endowment 

From  taxation 

From  public  funds. . . 
From  other  sources. . 


Total  funds 

5.  Colleges. 

Number  of  colleges 

Teachers , 

Students 

6.  Income  of  colleges. 

From  endowment 

From  taxation 

From  public  funds , 

From  other  sources 

Total  funds 

7.  AH  schools.. 

Number 

Teachers 

Pupils 

8.  Income  of  all  schools. 

From  endowment 

From  taxation  and  public  funds. 
From  other  sources 

Total  funds 

9.  Children  of  school  age. 

Between  5  and  20  (white) 

Enrollment  in  all  schools 

10.  Libraries  (private) . 

Number 

Volumes 

11.  Churches. 

Number 

Value 

12.  Number  of  periodicals. 

Daily 

Weekly 

All  others 

Total...  


N.  Carolina  United  States 

2,657  80,978 

2,730  91,966 

104,095  3.354,011 

$  i,53S  $  182,594 

42,936  4,653,096 

97.378  2,552,402 

16,715  2,141,450 

$158,564  $9,529.542 

272  6,085 

403  12,260 

7,822  263,098 

$  15,987  $  288,855 
14,202 

"5.724 

171,661  4,225,433 

$187,648  $4,644,214 


5 
29 


$11,300 


29,400 


215,454 
112,430 

38 
29.592 

1,787 
$905,753 


40 
ii 


239 

1,678 

27,821 

$  466,614 

15,485 

194,249 

1,288,080 


$40,700  $1,964,428 

2,934  87,257 

3,162  105,858 

112,430  3,642,694 

$  28,822  $  923,763 

140,314  7,590,117 

217,776  7,648,120 

$386,912  $16,162,000 


7.134,973 
3,642,694 

15,615 
4,636,411 

38,183 
$87,446,371 

254 

1,902 

370 


2,526 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


69 


DETAILED  EDUCATIONAL  STATISTICS  FOR  NORTH  CAROLINA  AND  UNITED  STATES, 

1860 
(From  Census  1860) 

1.  Public  schools. 

North  Carolina  United  States 

Number '. 2,994  107,880 

Teachers 2,928  131,099 

Pupils 105,025  4,955,894 

2.  Income  of  public  schools. 

From  endowment $  21,462  $     416,606 

From  taxation  and  public  funds 239,779  I8,952,o73 

From  other  sources 7,478  3,179,840 

Total  funds $268,719  -$22,548,519 

3.  Private  schools  and  colleges. 

Number 450  7,344 

Teachers 755  19,142 

Pupils 14,709  521,143 

4.  Income  of  private  schools  and  colleges. 

From  endowment $  24,140  $1,783,025 

From  taxation  and  other  public  funds 1I,I95  969,464 

From  other  sources 454,390  9,417,104 

Total  funds $489,725  $12,169,593 

5.  All  schools. 

Number 3,444  115,224 

Teachers 3,683  150,241 

Pupils "9,734  5,477,037 

6.  Income  of  all  schools. 

Total  funds $758,444  $34,718,112 

From  endowment 45,602  2,199,631 

From  taxation  and  public  funds 250,974  19,929,537 

From  other  sources 461,868  12,588,944 

7.  Libraries  (not  private). 

Number 301  27,730 

Volumes 190,091  I3»3i6i379 

8.  Churches. 

Number 2,270  54,009 

Value $1,999,227  $171,397,932 

9.  Number  of  periodicals. 

Daily 8  387 

Weekly 57  3,173 

All  others 9  491 

Total 74  4,051 


TAXATION  FOR  STATE  PURPOSES  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 

NATHAN  C.  SCHAEFFER,  STATE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION 
FOR  PENNSYLVANIA 

The  revenues  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
November  30,  1904,  were  $19,560,698.15.  Out  of  this  revenue  about  six 
millions  were  set  apart  for  educational  purposes.  Not  a  dollar  was  derived 
from  taxes  on  real  estate,  which  is  taxed  only  for  local  purposes.  According 
to  the  estimates  of  the  auditor  general,  this  revenue  would  be  diminished  by 
$13,853,865.00,  if  railroads  and  other  corporations  were  to  pass  under  federal 


70  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

control  as  proposed  by  Mr.  Garfield.    The  loss  to  the  public  schools  of  Penn- 
sylvania would  be  very  serious  and  far-reaching. 

Very  few  persons,  even  in  Pennsylvania,  know  how  the  state  gets  its  revenue. 
It  has  therefore  been  deemed  proper  to  add  statements  showing  from  what 
sources  this  revenue  is  derived,  and  how  the  present  system  of  taxation  for 
state  purposes  was  developed.  The  statement  of  the  sources  of  revenue  is 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  H.  C.  Greenawald  of  the  Treasury  Department. 
The  "Historical  Sketch  of  Tax. Legislation"  is  reprinted  from  Eastman's 
treatise  on  Taxation  for  State  Purposes  in  Pennsylvania. 

SOURCES  OF  REVENUE 

Tax  on  capital  stock. — Corporations  pay  a  tax  of  five  mills  upon  the  actual  value  of 
their  capital  stock  of  all  kinds,  common,  special,  and  preferred.  Manufacturing  com- 
panies are  exempt  (including  newspapers)  except  such  as  are  engaged  in  brewing  or  distill- 
ing spirits  or  malt  liquors,  and  such  as  enjoy  and  exercise  the  right  of  eminent  domain. 
Under  a  proviso,  fire  and  marine  insurance  companies  pay  three  mills.  See  supplement 
to  act  approved  June  i,  1889,  as  amended  1891  and  1893. 

Tax  on  loans. — Taxes  on  corporate  and  municipal  loans,  at  the  rate  of  four  mills,  are 
deducted  by  the  treasurers  of  corporate  bodies  or  municipalities  from  the  interest  when 
paid  to  the  holders  of  their  bonds  or  other  obligations,  and  by  them  paid  into  the  state 
treasury.  The  compensation  is  5  per  cent,  on  the  first  thousand,  i  per  cent,  on  the  second 
thousand,  and  half  of  i  per  cent,  on  all  sums  over  $2,000.  Moneys  loaned  at  interest 
to  individuals  are  returned  by  the  lender  to  the  local  assessor  and  tax  on  same  (four 
mills)  paid  to  county  treasurer,  and  by  him  to  state  treasurer.  This  constitutes  what  is 
known  as  "state  personal  tax,"  three-fourths  of  which  is  returned  to  the  counties  paying 
the  same.  There  is  no  tax  whatever  on  real  estate  paid  into  the  state  treasury.  In  addition, 
transportation,  transmission,  and  electric  light  companies  pay  a  tax  of  eight-tenths  of 
i  per  cent,  on  gross  receipts  earned  in  Pennsylvania. 

Tax  on  premiums. — Foreign — fire,  marine,  life,  and  accident — insurance  companies 
pay,  thru  the  insurance  commissioner,  a  tax  of  2  per  cent,  on  all  business  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. Domestic  insurance  companies  pay  eight-tenths  of  i  per  cent,  on  premiums 
within  the  state. 

Bonus  on  charter. — New  corporations  pay  one-third  of  i  per  cent,  on  amount  of 
authorized  capital  stock  in  addition  to  fees  paid  to  the  secretary  of  the  commonwealth. 

Tax  on  bank  stock. — Banks  pay  four  mills  on  actual  value  of  shares  as  indicated 
by  adding  together  the  amount  of  capital  stock  paid  in,  surplus  and  individual  profits; 
dividing  same  by  number  of  shares;  or  ten  mills  on  the  par  value.  Banks  are  exempt 
from  local  taxes,  except  on  real  estate. 

Notary  public  commissions. — A  fee  of  $25  for  each  commission  is  collected  by  exec- 
utive department. 

Fees  of  office. — Paid  quarterly  by  secretary  of  the  commonwealth,  insurance  com- 
missioner, secretary  of  internal  affairs,  health  officer  of  Philadelphia,  and  attorney  gen- 
eral, after  $7,000,  which  amount  he  retains,  annually,  in  addition  to  fixed  salary. 

Tax  on  writs. — Registers,  recorders,  and  prothonotaries  of  the  several  counties  pay 
3  per  cent,  on  all  receipts  of  fees,  for  entering  judgments,  agreements,  mortgages,  and 
other  instruments  of  writing. 

Collateral  inheritance  tax. — There  is  a  tax  of  5  per  cent,  on  clear  value  of  all  estates 
which  go  to  heirs,  other  than  father,  mother,  husband,  wife,  or  children  and  their 
descendants  born  in  lawful  wedlock,  and  also  on  bequests  to  other  than  as  stated. 

Licenses. — Licences  on  mercantile,  liquor  (wholesale  and  retail),  brewing,  distilling, 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  71 

eating-houses,  billiard  saloons,  on  brokers,  auctioneers,  peddlers,  theaters,  and  circuses 
are  collected  by  county  treasurers  and  paid  into  the  state  treasury  monthly. 

Expenses  of  bank  examinations. — This  is  a  tax  on  state  and  private  banks,  loan  associa- 
tions, etc.,  to  reimburse  in  part  the  commonwealth  for  cost  of  making  these  examinations 
by  the  state  bank  examiners  of  the  banking  department. 

Interest  on  treasury  deposits  of  state  moneys. — The  state  now  receives  2  per  cent, 
interest  on  all  deposits,  payable  May  i  and  November  i. 

Altho  the  receipts  of  the  treasury  are  $19,370,447.39,  less  than  $17,000,- 

000  of  the  amount  can  be  used  for  the  payment  of  appropriations.     As  a 
matter  of  revenue  the  difference  is  a  fiction.     In  the  summary  of  the  receipts 

1  have  indicated  by  italic  type  items  which  are  paid  in  and  returned  by  auditor 
general's  warrant,  viz:  Three-fourths  of  the  state  personal  tax,  personal  fees 
of  office,  annuity  for  right  of  way  from  Erie  Railroad  company,  all  licenses 
and  fines  from  the  department  of  agriculture,  game  commissions,  fish  com- 
missions and  forestry  commissions. 

STATE  TREASURY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,   RECEIPTS   FOR  YEAR   ENDING 
NOVEMBER   30,    1904 

GENERAL  FUND 

Land $        2,692 . 69 

Tax  on  capital  stock 5,449,251 . 28 

Tax  on  building  and  loan  associations'  stock i3>187 . 23 

Tax  on  corporate  gross  receipts 1,207,753 .41 

Tax  on  gross  receipts  of  bankers  and  brokers 39>352  •  6° 

Tax  on  notarial  gross  receipts 4,344  •  47 

Tax  on  bank  stock 799,146.29 

Expenses  of  bank  examinations 38,307 . 06 

Tax  on  income 52,440 . 64 

Tax  on  premiums 1,109,145.94 

Tax  on  gross  premiums 92,312 . 29 

Tax  on  municipal  loans 279,734.81 

Tax  on  corporate  loans 1,177,175 . 16 

Tax  on  personal  property ( % 807,074 . 33 

If  2,421, 222.  QQ 

Tax  on  writs,  wills,  deeds,  etc 180,142 . 40 

Tax  on  collateral  inheritances 1,080,578.08 

Mercantile  licenses,  retail 677,382 . 28 

Mercantile  licenses,  wholesale 255,275.50 

Wholesale  liquor  licenses 513,306.99 

Retail  liquor  licenses 605,504.99 

Brewers'  licenses 288,003  •  25 

Distillers'  licenses Si,5°5  •  74 

Bottlers'  licenses 158,989 . 59 

Billiard  licenses 77,760. 76 

Brokers'  licenses 38,206.51 

Auctioneers'  licenses 14,530. 71 

Peddlers'  licenses 5,111 . 15 

Theater,  circus,  etc.,  licenses 16,742.95 

Eating-house  licenses 30,627 . 88 

Pamphlet  laws 123.21 

Bonus  on  charters 508,084 . 48 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


Accrued  interest 74-23 

Fertilizer  license  jees 19,020 .  oo 

Oleomargarine  licenses 31,204. 28 

Renovated  butter  licenses 4,033.43 

Fines  for  violation  of  game  laws 1,606.38 

Fines  for  violation  of  fishing  laws 3,5  5^  •  Q2 

Fines  for  violation  of  pure  food  laws 65,305 .  oo 

Fines  for  violation  of  renovated  butter  laws 2,081 . 50 

Fines  for  violation  of  oleomargarine  laws 3,017. 72 

Fines  for  violation  of  milk  laws 1,710.00 

Fines  for  violation  of  commercial  food  stufts  laws 50.00 

Fines  N.  G.  P.  courts  martial 423 . 55 

Fines  for  violation  of  factory  laws 307 .  oo 

Penalties 188.50 

Notary  public  commissions 9,225 .  oo 

Annuity  for  right  of  way 10,000 . oo 

Escheats .' 13,667.06 

Fees  of  office 182,595.83 

Personal  fees 36,220.74 

Refunded  cash 20,493  •  65 

Conscience  money 121 .00 

Interest  on  state  deposits 232,721 . 13 

Non-resident  hunters'  licenses 1,726. 12 

Fishing  licenses 3,302.68 

Forestry  reservation,  sundry  revenues 1,076.08 

Receipts  from  sale  of  state  property 530. 78 

United  States  government  on  account  Civil  War  claim 921,134.36 

Sale  of  Carlisle  and  Chambersburg  Road  Stock 155 .00 

Insurance  on  losses  by  fire  Edinboro  Normal  School 30.00 

$19,560,698.15 

Amount  transferred  to  sinking  fund ' 100,250.76 

Balance  in  fund $19,370,447 . 39 

SINKING  FUND 

Amount  transferred  from  general  fund $190,250. 76 

Allegheny  Valley  Railroad  Bond  No.  31 100,000 .  oo 

Allegheny  Valley  Railroad,  interest  on  bonds 27,500.00 

Fines  for  Sabbath  breaking 212 .00 

Interest  on  state  deposits 79»i83 . 58 


Total $397,146.34 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  TAX  LEGISLATION  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 
(From  Eastman's  Taxation  /or  Stale  Purposes  in  Pennsylvania) 

Prior  to  1831  Pennsylvania  could  hardly  be  said  to  have  any  system  of  state  taxation. 
For  many  years  the  expenses  of  state  government  were  so  small  as  to  permit  of  being  almost 
wholly  defrayed  by  the  revenue  derived  from  sales  of  lands,  from  the  dividends  paid  on 
stocks  of  corporations  in  which  the  state  had  invested,  and  from  similar  sources.  The 
commonwealth's  quota  of  the  Revolutionary  War  debt  was  apportioned  among  the  counties. 
In  1814  a  tax  was  laid  on  bank  dividends,  and  prior  to  1826  this  tax,  with  certain  taxes  on 
court  officers,  constituted  the  entire  state  taxation,  save  in  the  way  of  licenses.  In  1826 
the  tax  on  collateral  inheritances  was  imposed,  which  is  still  in  existence. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  73 

In  1831  the  first  act  creating  anything  like  a  system  of  state  taxation  was  passed. 
It  taxed  ground-rents,  moneys  at  interest,  moneys  owing  by  solvent  debtors,  mortgages, 
and  corporation  stocks  on  which  dividends  were  paid,  public  stocks,  except  those  issued 
by  the  state,  and  pleasure  carriages,  one  mill  on  the  dollar  of  the  value  thereof  annually. 
This  tax  was  collected  by  the  county  officers  for  the  use  of  the  commonwealth.  In  the 
same  year  the  commissioners  of  the  several  counties  were  required  to  increase  the  county 
rates  by  one  mill  upon  the  dollar  of  the  value  of  all  real  and  personal  property  subject 
by  law  to  local  taxation,  and  to  pay  the  additional  amount  raised  in  this  manner  for  the 
use  of  the  state.  Both  the  act  providing  for  this  taxation  and  the  other  act  of  1831  above 
referred  to  were  limited  in  their  operation  to  five  years,  it  being  generally  believed  that, 
at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  the  income  from  the  gigantic  public  works,  consisting  of 
canals,  railroads,  etc.,  which  were  then  in  course  of  construction,  would  be  sufficient 
to  defray  all  expenses  of  state  government.  Both  acts  of  1831  were  repealed  by  acts  of 
February  18,  1836,  and  March  10,  1836.  From  1836  to  1840  the  commonwealth  realized 
certain  large  sums  from  the  United  States  bank,  incorporated  as  a  state  bank  after  the 
expiration  by  limitation  of  its  charter  from  the  general  government,  and  from  the  United 
States,  the  surplus  then  existing  in  the  United  States  treasury  being  divided  among  the 
several  states.  At  the  beginning  of  1840  the  taxes  on  bank  dividends,  collateral  inheri- 
tances, writs,  etc.,  and  licenses,  were  the  principal  sources  of  state  revenue. 

The  debt  created  for  the  erection  of  the  public  works  had  by  this  time  assumed  such 
proportions,  and  the  interest  charge  thereon  was  so  onerous,  that  it  soon  became  apparent 
that  the  commonwealth  could  not  look  to  the  income  derived  from  such  works  as  a  means 
of  defraying  the  expenses  of  government;  and  the  sale  of  the  works  began  to  be  agitated. 
At  this  juncture  was  passed  the  act  of  June  n,  1840,  which  imposed  a  tax  of  one  mill  on 
the  stock  of  banks  and  other  institutions  making  or  declaring  a  profit,  half  a  mill  on  cer- 
tain personal  property,  a  small  tax  on  household  furniture,  pleasure  carriages,  and  watches, 
and  a  tax  on  the  salaries  of  the  officers  of  the  state.  It  was  estimated  that  these  taxes 
would  produce  $500,000  or  $600,000  per  annum.  As  the  interest  charge  on  the  public 
debt  alone  was  $1,600,000  for  that  year,  however,  this  act  proved  ridiculously  insufficient 
for  the  purposes  which  it  was  intended  to  attain,  and  in  1843  the  commonwealth  defaulted 
in  the  payment  of  interest  to  its  creditors. 

The  storm  of  criticism  which  followed  this  violation  of  faith  resulted  in  awakening 
all  citizens  to  the  demands  of  the  hour,  and  on  April  29,  1844,  and  act  was  passed,  very 
sweeping  in  its  provisions,  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  tax  system  now  in  existence. 

The  act  of  April  29,  1844,  created  the  existing  taxes  on  capital  stock  and  on  personal 
property.  The  state  tax  on  real  estate  therein  provided  for  was  repealed  by  act  of  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1866  (P.  L.,  p.  83),  and  the  tax  on  horses  and  cattle,  for  state  purposes,  by 
act  of  March  21,  1873  (P.  L..  p.  46).  The  tax  on  watches,  household  furniture,  and 
pleasure  carriages  was  repealed  by  act  of  May  13,  1887  (P.  L.,  p.  114).  The  said  act 
of  1844  also  originated  the  practice,  universally  observed  in  subsequent  legislation,  of 
taxing  corporations  directly  thru  state  officers,  and  personal  property  through  the 
medium  of  county  officers,  acting,  for  that  purpose,  as  agents  of  the  state. 

From  the  inauguration  of  the  new  system  of  taxation  by  the  acts  of  1844  and  1846, 
down  to  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  no  material  changes  were  effected  in  that  system. 
The  taxes  on  personal  property,  capital  stock  of  corporations,  bank  stock  and  dividends, 
writs,  deeds,  etc.,  fees  of  public  officers,  collateral  inheritances,  and  the  various  kinds  of 
licenses,  constituted  during  that  time  the  main  sources  of  revenue. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion  necessitated  greatly  increased  expenditures,  and 
to  meet  these  new  taxes  were  imposed.  Among  these  were  the  tax  on  the  net  earnings  or 
income  of  private  bankers  and  brokers  (1861);  the  tax  on  the  gross  receipts  of  transpor- 
tation companies  (1866);  tax  on  the  net  earnings  or  income  of  corporations  (1864);  tax 
on  tonnage  of  transportation  companies  (1864);  tax  on  the  mining  of  coal  (1867);  and 


74  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

tax  on  corporate  loans,  which  was  not,  however,  as  originally  created,  a  new  tax,  but 
merely  a  new  way  of  taxing  certain  classes  of  personal  property  (1864). 

After  the  close  of  the  war  many  of  these  new  taxes  were  abolished,  among  these  the 
tax  on  corporate  loans,  the  tax  on  gross  receipts  of  transportation  companies,  and  the  tax 
on  the  mining  of  coal,  by  the  acts  of  March  21,  1873,  and  April  24,  1874,  while,  by  subse- 
quent legislation,  the  tax  on  the  net  earnings  of  corporations  was  gradually  narrowed  in 
its  application  until  it  was  limited  as  at  present,  and  the  tax  on  tonnage,  materially  mod- 
ified, was  gradually  diminished  until  its  collection  ceased,  under-  the  provisions  of  the  act 
of  June  7,  1879,  in  1881,  by  limitation. 

With  the  development  of  the  state,  increased  revenues  again  became  necessary,  and 
in  1877  the  tax  on  gross  receipts  of  transportation  companies  was  revived,  and,  by  the  same 
act,  a  new  tax,  that  upon  the  gross  premiums  of  domestic  insurance  companies,  was 
created. 

It  was  also  attempted,  by  the  revenue  acts  of  1879  and  1881,  to  revive  the  tax  on 
corporate  loans,  but,  owing  to  the  wording  of  the  sections  of  said  acts  providing  for  the 
the  imposition  of  this  tax,  the  supreme  court  declared  the  tax  invalid,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  passage  of  the  revenue  act  of  June  30,  1885,  that  the  tax  on  corporate  loans  as  it  now 
exists  was  created. 

The  said  act  of  1885,  by  its  twentieth  section,  also  provided  for  an  innovation  in  the 
matter  of  taxing  the  capital  stock  of  corporations,  which  relieved  manufacturing  corpora- 
tions from  the  payment  of  said  tax.  The  act  of  1879  had  contained  a  proviso  that  limited 
partnership  associations  engaged  in  manufacturing  or  in  mercantile  business  should  be 
relieved  from  the  tax  on  capital  stock,  but  the  act  of  1885  was  the  first  to  contain  a  general 
provision  of  that  nature.  That  exemption  has  been  continued  by  all  subsequent  tax  legis- 
lation, modified,  however,  so  as  to  relieve  only  so  much  of  the  capital  of  a  manufacturing 
company  from  taxation  as  is  invested  in  property  used  exclusively  in  manufacturing. 

From  1885  to  1897  no  new  tax  was  created,  all  tax  legislation  during  that  period 
being  in  the  nature  of  amendments  to  the  laws  relating  to  already  existing  taxes. 

At  the  session  of  1897  new  taxes  were  created  on  direct  inheritances,  on  the  receipts 
of  express  companies  (in  addition  to  the  tax  on  gross  receipts,  to  which  they  were  already 
subject),  and  on  the  matured  stock  of  building  and  loan  associations.  The  system  of 
taxation  of  bank  stock  was  also  materially  changed.  The  laws  relating  to  the  licenses 
of  distillers,  brewers,  etc.,  were  also  amended. 

****** 

In  closing  this  sketch  it  may  be  said  that,  while  the  state  tax  system  of  Pennsylvania 
can  doubtless  be  improved  in  many  respects,  the  system  itself  is  a  very  excellent  one. 
The  burdens  of  taxation  for  state  purposes  are  almost  wholly  placed  upon  corporations, 
leaving  individual  taxables  subject  to  taxation  for  local  purposes  only,  except  that  the 
mortgages,  bonds,  and  other  classes  of  personal  property  taxable  under  the  laws  of  the 
state  held  by  them  pay  a  state  tax,  but  three-fourths  of  even  this  tax  is  returned  to  the 
counties,  to  relieve  the  burdens  of  local  taxation. 

The  state  tax  laws  of  Pennsylvania  are  not  only,  in  the  main,  just,  but  they  have 
been  so  thoroly  construed  by  hundreds  of  decisions  of  the  courts  that  but  little  oppor- 
tunity exists  for  disputing  over  the  proper  interpretation  thereof. 

Before  wholly  abandoning  a  system  so  long  established,  so  thoroly  interpreted, 
and  so  generally  equitable,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  any  untried  system  devised  by 
theorists,  every  feature  of  which  must  be  construed  by  the  courts,  it  is  believed  that  thought- 
ful men  will  require  nothing  short  of  an  absolute  demonstration  that  the  proposed  system 
will  prove  in  all  important  respects  the  superior  of  the  old. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  75 

METHOD  OF  TAX  A  TION  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES  IN  INDIA  NA 

JOHN  W.  CARR,  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  SCHOOLS,  ANDERSON,  IND. 

In  respect  to  use,  taxes  for  school  purposes  in  Indiana  are  of  two  kinds — 
tuition  school  tax  and  special  school  tax.  The  former  yields  a  fund  that  can 
be  used  only  to  pay  licensed  teachers  for  teaching;  the  latter  for  all  other  pur- 
poses for  which  school  expenditures  are  made,  including  the  erection  of  build- 
ings, payment  of  superintendents  of  schools,  special  teachers,  etc.  If  any 
considerable  sum  remains  in  the  special  fund  at  the  close  of  the  school  year  it 
is  transferred  to  the  tuition  fund.  If  there  is  a  balance  in  the  tuition  fund  it 
cannot  be  transferred  to  any  other  fund,  but  must  be  used  to  pay  teachers' 
salaries.  The  balance  may  be  carried  over  to  the  next  year,  but  this  balance 
is  never  large. 

METHOD    OF  LEVYING   SPECIAL   SCHOOL   TAX 

In  all  towns  and  in  all  cities  except  Indianapolis,  the  school  boards,  con- 
sisting of  three  members,  levy  the  special  tax.  In  amount  it  varies  from 
nothing  to  50  cents  on  the  $100  of  assessed  valuation  of  property,  and  not  to 
exceed  25  cents  on  each  poll.  (The  property  is  usually  assessed  at  about  two- 
thirds  its  actual  value.  Poll  tax  is  levied  on  males  between  the  ages  of  twenty- 
one  and  fifty.)  In  townships,  the  levy  is  made  by  the  township  trustee,  and 
must  be  approved  by  the  township  council,  which  consists  of  three  members. 
Indianapolis  is  governed  by  special  charter  and  the  school  commissioners,  five 
in  number,  levy  a  certain  amount  for  all  school  purposes  not  to  exceed  57 
cents  on  the  $100,  which  can  be  expended  for  school  purposes  as  the  com- 
missioners direct.  The  special  tax  is  always  expended  in  the  corporation  in 
which  it  is  levied. 

MEANS   OF   SUPPLEMENTING   THE   SPECIAL   SCHOOL   FUND 

There  are  only  three  ways  of  supplementing  the  amount  raised  by  direct 
taxation  for  special  school  purposes: 

(a)  Sale  of  property  owned  by  the  school  corporation. 

(6)  Temporary  loans  made  by  school  boards  or  township  trustees.  Such 
loans  can  be  made  for  only  small  amounts  and  for  a  short  time.  The  legality 
of  such  loans  has  never  been  passed  upon  by  the  supreme  court. 

(c)  Sale  of  township,  town,  or  city  bonds.  Such  bonds  are  issued  by  the 
township  trustee  and  approved  by  the  township  council  in  the  case  of  townships, 
and  by  the  town  trustees  or  by  the  mayor  and  common  council  of  cities.  In 
no  case  are  school  boards  authorized  to  issue  bonds.  The  special  funds 
derived  from  the  sale  of  such  bonds  are  used  for  some  specific  purpose — 
usually  the  purchase  of  school  sites  and  the  erection  and  equipment  of  school 
buildings. 


76  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

SOURCES   OF   TUITION   REVENUE 

There  are  two  sources  of  revenue  that  may  be  used  for  tuition  purposes — 
state  and  local. 

1.  State  revenues. — There  are  four  items  that  go  to  make  up  the  state 
school  revenue,  as  follows  : 

(a)  A  school  tax  of  n  cents  on  the  $100  of  taxable  property  of  the  state.   This  yielded 
in  1903,  $1,698,868.59.   This  tax  is  collected  semi-annually  by  the  county  treasurers  and 
turned  over  to  the  state  treasurer.   It  is  then  distributed  to  the  different  school  corpora- 
tions in  proportion  to  the  number  of  pupils  enumerated — all  children  between  the  ages 
of  six  and  twenty-one. 

(b)  Interest  on  common  school  fund  loans  paid  by  borrowers.   In  1903,  this  amounted 
to  $401,829.06.   The  common  school  fund  is  a  permanent  fund,  and  in  ^904  it  amounted 
to  $8,032,654.79.   This  fund  has  been  accumulating  for  many  years.   The  constitution 
of  1851  provided  that  certain  funds  and  revenues  and  all  fines  and  forfeitures  should  go 
to  this  fund,  the  principal  of  which  is  kept  inviolate,  the  interest  alone  being  used  for 
school  purposes.   This  fund  is  apportioned  among  the  different  counties  and  loaned  at 
6  per  cent,  interest  on  first  mortgages  on  real  estate.   Each  county  is  held  responsible  for 
both  principal  and  interest,  so  losses  are  impossible.   It  is  distributed  on  the  per  capita 
basis,  that  is,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  children  in  each  corporation  enumerated. 

(c)  Interest  on  the  congressional  fund.   In  1903  this  amounted  to  $144,981.53.   At 
the  time  Indiana  was  organized  as  a  state,  congress  appropriated  the  sixteenth  section  of 
land  in  each  congressional  township  for  school  purposes.    By  an  act  of  congress  passed 
in  1828,  the  state  was  authorized  to  sell  these  lands  and  to  create  a  trust  fund  to  be  loaned 
for  the  benefit  of  the  schools.    Most  of  these  lands  were  sold  when  the  lands  were  very  cheap. 
As  a  result,  the  congressional  fund  amounts  to  only  $2,465,983 .65.    In  a  very  few  instances 
the  lands  have  been  kept,  and  now  the  income  is  almost  sufficient  to  support  the  schools 
in  those  localities.    Other  states  who  have  school  lands  should  see  to  it  that  they  are  kept 
and  properly  managed  for  the  benefit  of  the  schools. 

(d)  A  special  tax  of  three-eighths  of  a  cent  on  the  $100  for  the  benefit  of  school  cor- 
porations which  are  now  unable  to  pay  the  minimum  wages  to  teachers  and  to  maintain 
schools  for  the  minimum  term,  six  months.    This  tax  will  yield  about  $85,000  annually, 
and  the  proceeds  will  go  to  about  one  hundred  of  the  poorest  school  corporations  of  the 
state.    This  is  a  new  law  and  embodies  a  new  feature — additional  assistance  from  the  state, 
provided  a  corporation  taxes  itself  40  cents  on  the  $100  and  is  still  unable  to  support 
its  schools  properly. 

2.  Local  tuition. — The  state  funds  are  inadequate  to  pay  teachers'  salaries, 
so  the  law  provides  for  raising  funds  locally,  to  supplement  those  provided 
by  the  state.     There  are  four  different  ways  in  which  money  is  raised  locally 
for  tuition  purposes,  as  follows: 

(a)  Local  tuition  tax. — This  tax  varies  from  nothing  to  50  cents  on  the  $100  ot 
taxable  property,  and  from  nothing  to  25  cents  on  each  poll.  It  is  levied  by  the  township 
trustee,  with  the  approval  of  the  township  council  in  the  townships,  and  by  the  school 
board  in  each  town  and  each  city  except  Indianapolis.  The  funds  arising  from  this  tax 
can  be  used  only  by  the  school  corporation  making  the  levy. 

(ft)  Surplus  dog  fund. — Indiana  levies  a  dog  tax  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  fund 
to  pay  for  all  animals  or  fowls  that  may  be  killed  or  maimed  by  dogs.  After  all  such  claims 
have  been  paid,  the  balance  of  the  dog  fund  goes  into  a  common  fund  in  the  county  to 
be  distributed  to  the  different  school  corporations  of  the  county  in  proportion  to  the  num- 
ber of  school  children  enumerated  in  each  school  corporation. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


77 


(c)  Revenue  derived  jrom  liquor  license  tax. — The  law  provides  a  license  tax  of  $100 
annually  for  the  purpose  of  selling  intoxicating  liquors  at  retail.   This  entire  amount 
goes  into  a  common  fund  and  is  apportioned  among  the  different  school  corporations  of 
each  county  in  the  manner  described  above.    This  is  the  only  indirect  tax  levied  for  school 
purposes. 

(d)  Local  tuition. — If  pupils  belonging  to  one  school  corporation  attend  school  in 
another  school  corporation,  tuition  is  charged.    If  a  school  corporation  does  not  support 
a  high  school,  it  must  pay  the  tuition  of  each  pupil  of  the  corporation  that  attends  a  high 
school  elsewhere.    The  amount  allowed  by  law  is  $2  per  month  for  each  pupil  attending 
high  school,  and  must  be  paid  out  the  of  special  school  fund.    The  corporation  receiving 
money  for  tuition  purposes  must  add  it  to  the  tuition  fund.   There  are  no  statistics  to 
show  how  much  money  is  received  annually  from  this  source. 

PRACTICAL   WORKING  OF   THE  SYSTEM 

As  might  be  expected,  there  is  great  difference  in  the  amount  of  tax  levied 
locally  for  both  tuition  and  special  school  purposes.  This  is  due  to  a  number 
of  causes — needs  of  the  schools  in  the  way  of  buildings  and  equipments,  length 
of  school  term,  salaries  paid  teachers,  economy  in  expenditures,  differences  of 
assessed  valuation  of  property,  number  of  pupils  to  be  provided  for,  and  so  on. 
There  is  absolutely  no  relation  between  the  tax  duplicate  and  the  number  of 
schools  to  be  supported.  Again,  some  corporations  levy  a  high  rate  for  tuition, 
pay  good  salaries,  and  have  long  terms,  while  other  corporations  with  equal 
facilities  make  low  levies,  have  short  terms,  and  pay  poor  wages. 

The  special  school  rate  also  varies  greatly  in  different  corporations  for 
different  reasons.  Sometimes  it  is  owing  to  difference  in  valuation  of  property, 
sometimes  owing  to  difference  in  number  of  schools  to  be  supported,  sometimes 
it  is  owing  to  making  capital  investments  for  buildings  and  equipments,  some- 
times it  is  owing  to  extravagance  in  management.  The  levy  made  for  special 
school  purposes  in  the  same  corporation  may  vary  greatly  at  different  times, 
owing  to  different  conditions. 

CHART  I.— SHOWING  RATE  OF  TAXATION  IN  84  CITIES,  224  TOWNS,  AND  1,016  TOWNSHIPS 

OF  INDIANA,  1903 


FOR  TUITION  PURPOSES 

FOR  SPECIAL  SCHOOL 

§ 

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Oi 

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Cities      

6 

41 

28 

18 

Towns  

16 

35 

114 

24 

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14 

40 

330 

37i 

200 

24 

25 

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33 

386 

59 

4< 

The  actual  amounts  received  from  time  to  time  are  set  forth  in  Table  A 
below.  The  falling  off  in  the  amount  received  from  the  state  in  1895  and 
again  in  1897  was  due  to  reductions  in  the  rate  levied.  The  gradual  increase 
in  the  amount  raised  by  local  taxation  marks  the  increase  in  length  of  the 
school  term  and  the  increase  in  teachers'  wages. 


TABLE  A— SOURCES  OF  ALL  SCHOOL  REVENUES  IN  INDIANA  FROM  1880  TO  1003 
Taken  from  Education  in  Indiana,  by  State  Superintendent  F.  A.  Cotton 


S 

FATE  SOURCES 

School  Year  Ending  July  31 

Raised  by 
state  tax 

Interest  on 
common 
school 
fund  loans 
paid  by 
borrowers 

Interest  on 
congressional 
township 
fund 

Total 
revenues 
from  state 
sources 

Revenue 
per  capita 
from  state 
sources 

!88o  

$2  71 

1884  

187,162.70 

1,806,388.38 

!887  

2  8c 

!888  

i8«9  

1800  

180,188.30 

1891  

1892  

1803  

3.36 

1895  

1896  

1,868,745  IJ 

3.08 

.89 

1898  

.87 

167,748.68 

.86 

•  73 

.68 

i  608,868.59 

LOCAL  SOURCES 

Year 

Local 
tuition 

Dog  fund 

Special 
school 

e-a  £ 

sis  -§ 

am 

Liquor 
license 

Total  School 
revenue 

me  per 
a  from 
sources 

fl     • 

from 
local  tax 

revenue 

revenue 

!»s§i 

revenue 

from  local 

PIN 

.•Tslf 

III  * 

sources 

U   ra   U 

<£  u£ 

If  J 

1880 

$   589093.21 

None 

$1,461.891.15 

$  8,986.36 

$193,512.15 

$2,253.482.87 

$3-18 

$5.89 

1884 

806.415.35 

None 

1,410.091.09 

20,969.  II 

279.885-89 

2.517,361.44 

3-50 

6.01 

1887 

951.979.78 

None 

1,546,659.90 

1,377.11 

331,256.59 

2.861,273.38 

3-84 

6.64 

1888 

.008.072.56 

None 

1.615.386.52 

22,202.  16 

344342-79 

2,990,004.03 

3-93 

6.67 

1889 

,001,032.68 

None 

1,657,921.46 

31,743.07 

346,652.83 

2,947,350.04 

3-87 

6.60 

1890 

,172.232.39 

$45,752.61 

1,777,500.85 

11,474.30 

337,779-83 

3-344,739-98 

4-42 

7.06 

1891 

•370,799-85 

57-185-13 

1,705,727-94 

26.421.78 

353.I55-40 

3,513,292.  10 

4-56 

7.27 

1892 

.408.336.64 

67.789.30 

1,689,135.64 

18,872.50 

358,407.04 

3,542,541.12 

4.64 

7-40 

1893 

.051,796.08 

43  714.74 

1,810,417.39 

25,192.54 

391,554.56 

3,322,675.31 

4.28 

7-59 

1894 

,433  792  •  75 

18.630.54 

2,048,179.0.^ 

18,646.  14 

395,629.80 

3,914,878.26 

4.92 

8.28 

1895 

,562,155.75 

17  421.69 

2,415,600.44 

20.937.54 

396,160.00 

4,412,275.42 

5-45 

8.77 

1896 

,472,016.56 

15,713.81 

2,239-349-44 

12.671.83 

377,937-72 

4,117,689.36 

5-15 

8.24 

1897 

.770,816.24 

15,545.  71 

2,316,077.11 

27,588.58 

344.492.17 

4,474,519.81 

6.09 

8.98 

1898 

,228.546.40 

26.926.47 

2,493,610.32 

29,712.31 

386,637.07 

5,165,432.57 

6.89 

9-76 

1899 

.489.396.06 

15638.45 

1,855-543-91 

30,686.88 

401,243.70 

4,572,509.00 

6.32 

8.92 

1900 

.599.262.95 

151,744.65 

1,838,022.79 

19,460.42 

426,670.37 

5,035,161.18 

6.67 

9-56 

IOOI 

,687,931.96 

96.265.24 

2,557-590-51 

29,405.41 

436.946.64 

5,808,139.76 

7.68 

10.54 

IO02 

,706.923.83 

87873.67 

2,535,696-45 

52.403.86 

487,601.69 

5,870,499.50 

7-78 

10.63 

1003 

3,285,490.06 

106,806.79 

3,163,011.29 

83,467.74 

496,514-92 

7,135,200.80 

9.29 

1  2.  2O 

NOTES  ON  ABOVE  TABLE. — i.  In  columns  2,  3,  7,  8,  9,  n  the  sources  of  the  revenues 
actually  used  are  the  January  distribution  of  any  year,  logether  with  the  June  distribution 
of  the  previous  year,  not  the  two  distributions  of  a  calendar  year.  The  school  year  embraces 
the  last  half  of  one  and  the  first  half  of  the  next  calendar  year. 

2.  In  column  4  the  current  year  is  used.   The  congressional  interest  remains  about 
the  same  from  year  to  year. 

3.  The  table  shows  that  the  state's  participation  in  education  is  about  the  same  per 
capita  each  year,  whereas  the  local  support  has  more  than  doubled  in  the  period  from 
1880  to  1903. 

4.  The  per  capita  of  revenues  as  above,  column  14,  does  not  accord  with  the  per 
capita  cost  of  education.   This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  there  are  sources  and  expenditures 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


79 


which  do  not  come  thru  the  regular  channels  of  school  taxes  and  revenues,  e.  g.,  tuition 
paid  by  private  parties  for  the  privilege  of  sending  a  child  from  one  corporation  to  another. 
The  per  capita  distribution  of  school  revenue  is  never  a  measure  of  the  per  capita  expendi- 
ture. The  whole  object  in  making  this  table  is  to  show  the  relative  degrees  of  participa- 
tion of  the  state  and  local  corporations  in  raising  school  revenues. 

The  length  of  school  term,  the  daily  and  yearly  wages  of  teachers  and  the 
highest  possible  wages  of  teachers  are  set  forth  in  Chart  II  which  is  given 
below. 

CHART  II.— GIVING  SUMMARY  OF  THE  AVERAGE  LENGTH  OF  SCHOOL  TERM  IN  DAYS, 
AVERAGE  DAILY  WAGES,  AVERAGE  YEARLY  WAGES,  AND  HIGHEST  POSSIBLE 
ANNUAL  WAGES  OF  TEACHERS  UNDER  THE  PRESENT  LAW,  IN  84  CITIES,  224 
TOWNS,  AND  1,016  TOWNSHIPS  OF  INDIANA,  1003 


LENGTH  OF  SCHOOL 

AVERAGE  DAILY  WAGES 

AVERAGE  YEARLY  WAGES 

HIGHEST  ANNUAL 

TERM  IN  DAYS 

OF  TEACHERS 

OF  TEACHERS 

POSSIBLE  WAGES 

« 

» 

PS 

5' 

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A 

a 

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B 

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0 

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Less  than  $400,  i;  from  $400  to  $499,  19;  from  $500  to  $599,  54;  from  $600  to  $699,  10; 
total,  84. 

EXCELLENCY   OF   THE  INDIANA   SYSTEM  OF   SCHOOL   SUPPORT 

The  Indiana  system  of  school  support  is  one  of  the  very  best  that  has  ever 
been  invented.  The  fact  that  the  levying  of  taxes  for  school  purposes  is 
intrusted  to  the  school  officers  who  are  responsible  for  the  management  of  che 
schools,  and  who  know  most  about  them,  is  unique  and  cannot  easily  be 
improved  upon.  School  systems  in  other  states  that  must  depend  upon  city 
councils  or  other  officers  not  in  touch  with  the  schools  to  provide  support  for 
them  are  decidedly  handicapped.  If  the  people  elect  good  officers  to  administer 
their  school  affairs  they  will  usually  have  good  schools. 

It  is  agreed  that  the  very  best  way  to  support  schools  is  by  state  and  local 
taxation.  In  the  states  where  the  schools  are  supported  wholly  by  state 
revenues,  the  people  do  not  have  that  interest  in  the  schools  locally,  that  they 
should.  The  plan  of  levying  a  general  poll  and  property  tax  is  also  wise. 
This  gives  everybody  an  opportunity  to  help  support  the  schools.  People 
are  more  interested  in  anything  that  they  are  taxed  to  support. 

The  only  serious  defect  of  the  system  has  been  that  certain  corporations 
could  not  pay  even  the  minimum  wages  to  teachers  and  maintain  schools  for 
the  minimum  term.  This  defect  has  been  remedied  by  the  law  which  pro- 
vides a  special  state  levy  for  the  benefit  of  those  corporations. 


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i.  Canton,  O  
2.  Butte,  Mont  
3.  Montgomery,  Ala  
4.  Auburn,  N.  Y  
S.  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  . 
6.  East  St.  Louis,  111  
7-  Joliet,  111  

NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


TABLE  VI— VALUE  OF  PROPERTY,  COMPARATIVE  COST  OF  SCHOOLS,  AND  WAGES 

EARNED  IN  MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES  IN  THE   137  LARGEST 

CITIES   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

TABLE  ARRANGED  BY  HON.  W.  T.  HARRIS,  U.  S.  COMMISSIONER  OF  EDUCATION 


1 
VALUE  OF  PROPERTY  AND  COMPARATIVE 
EXPENDITURES  IN  CERTAIN  CITIES  IN  1902 

IN  MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES 
1900  (b) 

True  value  of 
real  and  personal 
property  based 
on  assessment 
for  taxation  (a) 

Wealth 
per 
capita 

Total  amt.  expended  for  main- 
tenance and  operation  of  all 
depts.  for  every  $i  ,000  of  prop'ty 

Amt.  expended  for  mainte- 
nance and  operation  of  schools 
for  every  $1,000  of  property 

Number 
of 
wage- 
earners 

Total 
wages 

Average 
wages 

United  States  

$20,519,453,820 

11,164,090.530 
1,264,970,711 
•     791,560,261 
5,897,202,210 
1.401,630,108 

$1,027.69 

i  ,086  .  46 
947.90 
688.24 
954.64 
1.362.13 

$16.40 

19.03 
15-23 
16.52 
I3-08 
10.43 

$3-53 

3-7i 
2.80 
2.69 
3-62 

2.81 

2,919,583 

1,682,361 
172,076 
108,486 
864,166 
92,404 

$1,371,123,504 

806,857,382 
68,729,761 
42,952,296 
401,283,890 
51,300,175 

$469,63 

479-60 
399-42 
395-92 
464-36 
554-63 

North  Atlantic  Division.  .  . 
South  Atlantic  Division  ..  . 
South  Central  Division  .  .  . 
North  Central  Division.  .  . 

i.  New  York,  N.  Y  

$5,175,500,127 
1,872,902,200 
1,151,283,170 
592,193  556 
1,152,505,834 
614,612,859 
392,907.290 
242,349,138 
688,499,988 
357,751,033 
352,157,335 
145,673,869 
353,212,142 
275:374.8n 
254.408.333 
158,585.635 
136,575,088 
169,250,000 
170,354,175 
192,801.860 
193,777.425 
199.442.100 
143.928,880 
145-561,215 
134364,115 
106.767.350 
108.004.305 
131,028.800 
114,278,135 
87,104,103 
99,502,618 
68,098.589 
74.554.380 
50.693.480 
00.935.465 
146,755-860 
63  121.261 
70.062.138 
71,674-588 
69.469.238 
96,216.875 
144.535.123 
79.085.266 
59956.729 
69.791,230 
85,320,567 

$1,444-11 
i  ,040  .  50 
862.38 
995.28 
2,009.32 
1,181.95 
1,007.45 
655.00 
1,067-14 
1,052.21 
1,055.94 
485-58 
1,177-37 
925-63 
886.44 
621.90 
639-47 
787-21 
811.21 
1,083.72 
i  ,06  1  .79 
1,156.19 
846.64 
856.24 
959-74 
711.78 
812.06 
988.90 
944-45 
725-87 
888.42 
632.96 
696.77 
489.79 
826.69 
I-334-I4 
587-17 
680.21 
754-72 
694  .  69 
1,022.67 
I.537.6I 
84I-33 
631.12 
775-46 
927.40 

$19-89 
11.88 
xi-59 
14.71 
19.00 
12-39 
12.23 
24.20 
8-55 
17-37 
15-35 
29.50 
11.48 
13-55 
21.17 
24.04 
26.34 
16.39 
17.28 
17-97 
8.80 
13-79 
16.43 
22.24 
14.06 
14.74 
15-18 
11-03 
20.69 
26.53 
14.60 
18.04 
21.64 
17-85 
15-88 
10.03 
14.49 
10.87 
19.63 
20.90 
22.42 
6.64 
14.72 
17-25 
J3-5I 
14.78 

$3-81 
4-38 
2.88 
2-57 
2.64 
2.30 
3-19 
4-79 
1.69 
3-14 
2-39 
3-28 
2.46 
2.77 
4-64 
5-23 
3-67 
3-03 
4-32 
3-83 
2.88 
2.78 
4.06 
3-77 
5-os 
3-73 
3-36 

3-21 

4-53 
4.71 
3-84 
4-59 
4-37 
3-i6 
4-31 
3-38 
2.23 
4-49 
4-63 
4-23 
4-57 
1.86 
2-55 
5-07 
4-56 
1-45 

462,763 
262,621 
246.445 
82,672 
72,142 
78,738 
58,810 
43422 
41,978 
63,240 
69.977 
19,435 
45,707 
48.328 
24693 
49-550 
19-499 
29  926 
26.608 
44,978 
25,Sn 
15381 
17,593 
33408 
10.926 
15383 

20  804 
I7,O66 
25-593 
14.917 
20.536 
30.190 
32,780 
7.429 
7-537 
8044 
8433 
19.669 
31,377 
12.389 
12  986 

8,572 
9356 
•    14361 
16869 
16,692 

$245,021,881 
131,065.337 
111,847,076 
38,191,076 
39,184,191 
29.220,460 
27.892.689 
19.915.817 
22,037.527 
27.189.069 
36.684,563 
7.645,167 
18.718.081 
20,240.656 
14643,714 
23.999.442 
9,126.042 
10.945.720 
12,708.523 
19998.362 
10.882  914 
7.783  652 
7  669805 
13.832,122 
6  824  003 
6.845.687 
10.352  502 
7.718824 
12.894,784 
6-735  177 
jo  016  571 
12812.538 
n,739  129 
3.109647 
3  804.076 
3  992.733 
3641.435 
5.191.52* 
11.821  633 
6,111.059 
6.785  070 
4  347  876 
3,103  989 
5  904  670 
7  959  792 
5,181,659 

$529-48 
499.07 
453-8o 
461.96 
543-15 
371-n 
470.28 
458-66 
524-98 
429-P3 
524-24 
393-37 
409.52 
418.82 
C593-03 
484-35 
468.03 
365-76 
477.62 
444.63 
426.60 
506.06 
435-96 
414.04 
624-57 
445.02 
497.62 
452-29 
503  84 
45I.5I 
487.76 
424.40 
358.12 
418.58 
504-72 
496-36 
431.81 
409.78 
376.76 
493  •  26 
522.49 
507.22 
33I-76 
411.  16 
471.86 
310.43 

3.  Philadelphia,  Pa  

6.  Baltimore,  Md  

7.  Cleveland,  Ohio  
8.  Buffalo,  N.  Y  

9.  San  Francisco.  Calif.  .. 
10.  Cincinnati,  Ohio  

12.  New  Orleans,  La  

14.  Milwaukee,  Wis  
15.  Washington,  D.  C  
16.  Newark.  N.T  
17.  Jersey  City,  N.  J  

19.  Minneapolis,  Minn..  . 
20.  Providence,  R.  I  
21.  Indianapolis,  Ind  
22.  Kansas  City,  Mo  
23    St   Paul  Minn  

24.  Rochester,  N.  Y  

26.  Toledo  Ohio  

28.  Columbus,  Ohio  
29.  Worcester,  Mass  

31.  New  Haven,  Conn.  .  . 

33.  Fall  River,  Mass  

36.  Los  Angeles.  Calif.  ... 
37.  Memphis,  Tenn  

40    Albany  N.  Y  

41.  Cambridge.  Mass.  ..  . 

44.  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.. 

(a)  Derived  from  Table  XIX  of  Bulletin  No.  42  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  September,  1902,  which 
gives  the  assessed  valuation  of  property,  and  the  ratio  of  assessed  to  true  value. 

(b)  Columns  6  and  7,  Census  1000. 

(c)  Includes  some  government  employes.    The  average  wage  excluding  these  is  $508.46. 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION 


TABLE  VI— Continued 


VALUE  OF  PROPERTY  AND  COMPARATIVE 
EXPENDITURES  IN  CERTAIN  CITIES  IN  1002 

IN  MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES 
looo  (6) 

True  value  of 
real  and  personal 
property  based 
on  assessment 
for  taxation  (a) 

Wealth 
per 
capita 

>     >, 
S-'a. 

e-sl 

ll! 

•g  v  - 

£  s-** 
a°  >, 

XT3  £ 

g  4J   k, 
rt  C1*- 

I1! 

Amt.  expended  for  mainte- 
nance and  operation  of  schools 
for  every  Ji  ,000  of  property 

Number 
of 
wage- 
earners 

Total 
wages 

Average 
wages 

47.  Nashville,  Term  
48    Seattle  Wash  

$  48.482,300 
71,634,873 
79,805,088 
43,784.990 
43  942,981 
28,654,210 
53,680,262 
63.236,971 
52,168,015 
73,705.945 
50,818.446 
64,511,991 
56.723,400 
80,716,117 
53,924.200 
56,924.599 
41,536.341 
26.346,190 
45,205,017 
40.943,240 
123.907,170 
35.019.802 
52,788.282 
48,131,882 
46,144.507 
41,617,181 
26,209  984 
18.188897 
36,274818 
36,930000 
42.463.732 
46,214.560 
54,587471 
41.988.120 
38,400861 
39.951.930 
34.450.700 
40,135.720 
41.301.406 
35-558325 
34041,133 
47.969.800 
21.680,728 
22.691.278 
29.599472 
28680853 
19.208  203 
24  498  261 
35  442  900 
23  '33  333 
33464  231 
32.923  846 
29.492.816 
39  286.712 
261005.299 
32.141.130 
26  972  840 
26.314.802 
34.360,215 
31,381,028 

596.19 

795-94 
977-77 
535-89 
557-77 
358-18 
715-73 
821.26 
745-26 
982  .  74 
781.82 
977-45 
810.33 
1,241.79 
849  .  20 
758-42 
680  .  92 
437-64 
783-63 
705  .  92 

2,065.  12 
538-77 
851.42 
829.86 
831-43 
743-16 
476.54 
330-71 
697^9 
677.61 
772.07 

888  .  74 
1,070.34 
763  •  42 
797-71 
839.11 
675-50 
802.71 
826.03 
8I7-43 
756.47 
959.40 
481.80 
547-32 
695-52 
674.84 
468  .  49 
597-52 
872-33 
578.33 
836.61 
848-55 
719-34 
946  .  67 
650.13 
I.I47-90 
674-32 
707  .  86 
859.01 
784-53 

$16.96 
15-63 
18.24 
15-73 
15-32 

29.  21 
14-89 

12-37 

23-36 
9.92 

15-94 
I5-78 
13-08 
14.80 
19.22 
17.84 
19-95 
22.72 
13.96 
15-86 
5.60 
17-33 
13-75 
16.41 
9-05 
24.18 
16.90 
26.08 
10.  26 
14.89 
10-55 
15.02 
I5-I9 
20.08 
1  1.  02 
19.82 
10.56 
10.36 
16.61 
13-24 
11.03 
9-73 
19.32 
10.98 
11-83 

22-.  14 
23.06 
20.92 
18.73 

11.88 
13-11 
8.45 

14.00 

5.08 

15-67 
14.19 

25.89 

21.88 
15-93 
12-79 

fo-50 
3-69 
4-83 
4-83 
4-45 
8-45 
4.14 
2.84 
4-56 
4-05 
3-65 
3-64 
4.80 
44-5 
5-46 
3-77 
4-49 
6-65 
2.78 
4-13 
i.  60 

2.21 
2.06 

5-49 
2-34 
5-8i 
5.26 
6-95 
3-97 
3-16 
3-71 

3-02 

3-79 
1-39 
4.68 
4-95 
3-24 
3.62 
3-03 
2.61 
4.81 
1-93 
6-56 
3-92 
3-98 
4-87 
8.14 
3-30 
3-8o 
3-83 
2.82 
1-39 
1.72 
1-94 
4-31 
3-oo 
6.08 
4.66 
4-58 
4.41 

8,447 
8,480 
13,363 
19,165 
16,055 
8,941 
14,457 
19.301 
17,492 
4,012 
22.358 
16,409 
4,557 
10,123 
4342 
21,564 
6,443 
7,279 
19,032 
10,759 
8,022 
5.027 
2,870 
2.977 
3,073 
3998 
9339 
10497 
5977 
10.544 
7.362 
5699 
8.615 
4-334 
14.914 
13-454 
7,255 
9,150 
4,588 
3,972 
9,030 
3,756 
4.866 
9-349 
1,736 
10986 
6,106 
7,092 
12,776 
8  090 
7,219 
2.827 
6.675 
2,751 
6.638 
2.058 
4-347 
10.600 
1,779 
5,427 

$2,889,241 
5,575,253 
7,603,809 
7,544,950 
7,439,210 
3,824,434 
6,791,026 
9,123.790 
8,576,042 
2,129.598 
8.972.310 
6,730,793 
1,942.509 
5,176  299 
2,199491 
8-571  923 
3,076.235 
2,883  975 
7,030966 
4,148.415 
3.901,186 
1,489  966 
1,176.150 
1,601.253 
1,755008 
2,145  444 
4.574625 
6,024497 
2,286  676 
4,486,259 
2,949.544 
2.612  817 
3.888892 
1,571  229 
7,564.198 
5,730998 
2.928  969 
4.951.460 
2,409  250 
1,555089 
3.971.307 
1,852.485 
1,936.558 
3.323  748 
789356 
6,166  462 
2,461.084 
1.806  654 
5,230.268 
4,619828 
3,006.730 
1,139  605 
2,587.221 
1,384.722 
3,160.119 
981  827 
2.356  028 
5.035  882 
i,  080618 
2.297,585 

$342.04 
657.46 
569.02 
393-68 
461.49 
427.74 
469.74 
472.71 
490  .  28 
530.8i 
401.30 
410.18 
426.27 
Sii-34 
506  .  56 
397-51 
477.61 
396.21 
369-43 
385-58 
486.31 
296.39 
406  .  32 
537-87 
571.10 
536-63 
489.84 
573-92 
382.58 
502.81 
400.64 
440.92 
451-41 
362.53 
507-I9 
425-97 
403-71 
54I-I4 
525-12 
39I-5I 
439-79 
493-21 
397-98 
355-52 
454-70 
561-30 
403.06 
254-75 
409.38 
57I-05 
428-97 
403  -  1  1 
387.60 
503-35 
476.06 
477.08 
541-99 
475-oS 
607.43 
423.55 

51.  Wilmington,  Del  
52.  Camden,  N.  T  
53.  Trenton,  N.  T  
54.  Bridgeport,  Conn  

56    Oakland  Calif     .... 

57.  Lawrence,  Mass  
58.  New  Bedford,  Mass  .  . 
59.  Des  Moines,  Iowa  
60.  Springfield,  Mass  
61.  Somerville,  Mass  
62    Troy   N.  Y  

63    Hoboken  N  J  

65.  Manchester,  N.  H..  .  . 
66    Utica  N  Y  

67    Peoria  111  

68.  Charleston,  S.  C  

70.  Salt  Lake  City.  Utah.. 
71.  San  Antonio,  Tex  

74.  Elizabeth,  N.  J  

76.  Kansas  City,  Kans.  .  . 

78    Portland   Me  

79    Yonkers  NY      

80'  Norfolk  '  Va  

81.  Water  bury.  Conn  

83.  Fort  Wayne.  Ind  
84.  Youngstown.  Ohio.  .  . 
85.  Houston  Tex  

88    Dallas  Tex 

92.  Brockton,  Mass  
93.  Binghamton,    N.  Y... 

95.  Pawtucket,  R.  I  

97.  Wheeling,  W.  Va  
98.  Mobile,  Ala  

99.  Birmingham,  Ala  
oo.  Little  Rock.  Ark  
01.  Springfield.  Ohio..  .  . 
02.  Galveston.  Tex  
03.  Tacoma.  Wash  
04.  Haverhill,  Mass  
05.  Spokane,  Wash  
06.  Terre  Haute,  Ind.... 

(a)  Derived  from  Table  XIX  of  Bulletin  No.  42  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  September,  1902,  which 
gives  the  assessed  valuation  of  property,  and  the  ratio  of  assessed  to  true  value. 
(6)  Columns  6  and  7,  Census  1900. 


86 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


TABLE  VI- Concluded 


VALUE  OF  PROPERTY  AND  COMPARATIVE 
EXPENDITURES  IN  CERTAIN  CITIES  IN  1902 

IN  MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES 
1000  (6) 

for  main- 
ion  of  all 
o  of  prop'y 

mainte- 
of  schools 
property 

True  value  of 

5 

0  O"g 

Number 

real  and  personal 
property  based 
on  assessment 

Wealth 
per 
capita 

Iff 
•g  £ 

ill 

of 
wage- 
earners 

Total 
Wages 

Average 
Wages 

for  taxation  (a) 

ESS 

£cS 

-  a- 

Sou 

1  £  g. 

<g£ 

^      13 

c 

107.  Dubuque,  Iowa  
108.  Quincy  ,  111  

$35,661,350 

950-97 

$9-57 
9  82 

$2.65 

5-503 

$2.012,153 

$365-65 

109.  South  Bend,  Ind  
no.  Salem,  Mass  

24,729.345 

570-14 

12.38 

3-31 

8.257 

3,409.637 

2  842  678 

412.94 

in.  Johnstown,  Pa.  

6  116 

us.  Elmira,  N.  Y  

113.  Allentown,  Pa  

761.85 

8  50 

3.38 

8  447 

114.  Davenport,  Iowa..  .. 
115.  McKeesport,  Pa  
116.  Springfield.  HI  

34,789,210 
26,908.898 

953-13 

717-57 

9-85 
12.80 

4-31 
3-00 
3-i8 

4-348 
7-605 
3  871 

1,892,737 
4.370.381 

435-31 
574.67 

117.  Chelsea,  Mass  

666  71 

28  06 

487  96 

118.  Chester,  Pa  

7682 

up.  York,  Pa  

64?  58 

8     *A 

7  785 

120.  Maiden,  Mass  

5-84 

3  082 

121.  Topeka,  Kans  

852.17 

3.758 

561.66 

123.  Newton,  Mass  

58l  88? 

511.28 

123.  Sioux  City.  Iowa  
124.  Bayonne,  N.  J  
125.  Knoxville,  Tenn  
126.  Schenectady.N.Y... 
127.  Fitchburg.  Mass.  .  .  . 

23  392.416 
29.785.193 
20.148.797 
16928,862 
24033.489 

658.94 
851.01 
584.02 
451-44 
751-05 
806  « 

15-43 
16.42 
12.77 

15-68 
20.20 
15  84 

5-2? 
4.65 

2-55 
3-23 

4-52 

3,104 
5083 
4.7M 
4-431 
6,796 

I  Qjg 

1  .485  O66 
2.856.776 

2,473  543 
2.527352 
2,113  078 

478.44 
562.03 
312.59 
570.38 
458.08 

129.  Rockford,  111  

130.  Taunton.  Mass  
131.  Canton,  Ohio  

21.305,180 
21,157-300 

686.47 
641-13 

21.70 
15563 

5-43 

5-21 

7,102 
6455 

3,331,680 
2,970,254 

469  .  I  2 
460.15 
982  &0 

133.  Montgomery.  Ala.  .  . 
134.  Auburn,  N.  Y  
135.  Chattanooga.  Tenn.. 
136.  Epst  St.  Louis,  111.  .. 
'37-  Joliet  111  

19.020.000 
14.101,715 

21.045-49? 
27,019.595 

603.81 
402  .  91 
657-67 
771.99 

18.19 
20.34 
12.68 
11-58 

1.87 

5-69 
2.25 
2.97 

2-359 
6.530 
5472 
5642 

802.188 
2,706.948 
1,889.795 
2.624.749 

340.05 
4I4-54 
345-36 
465-22 

(a)  Derived  from  Table  XIX  of  Bulletin  No.  42  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  September,  1902,  which 
gives  the  assessed  valuation  of  property,  and  the  ratio  of  assessed  to  the  true  value. 
(6)  Columns  6  and  7,  Census  1900. 


DISCUSSION 

J.  N.  WILKINSON,  president  of  the  State  Normal  Schools  of  Kansas,  Emporia,  Kans. — 
The  question  of  taxation  is  fundamental  to  any  people.  The  authority  to  tax  is  the  author- 
ity to  take  away  property,  even  to  the  extent  of  taking  away  the  means  of  living.  In  taxing 
for  the  support  of  public  enterprises,  the  authorities  levying  taxes  should  be  guided  not 
alone  by  the  ability  of  the  people  to  pay  taxes,  but  also  by  considerations  as  to  the  purposes 
among  which  the  taxes  are  to  be  distributed.  Teachers  are  in  danger  of  over-magnifying 
the  demands  of  education,  of  failing  to  have  a  due  sense  of  the  relative  importance  of 
enterprises  to  be  supported  by  taxation.  There  may  be  such  a  thing  as  raising  for  schools 
money  that  never  should  have  been  raised.  The  fines  and  forfeitures  of  criminals  have, 
in  nearly  all  times  and  places  in  this  country,  been  devoted  to  education,  and  there  seems 
to  be  a  feeling  that  money  for  education  is  good,  no  matter  what  its  source.  Possibly 
the  lawmakers  have  believed  that  collections  of  fines  and  forfeitures  would  be  made  more 
thoroly  if  the  proceeds  were  set  apart  to  a  good  use.  The  turning  into  the  school  fund 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION  87 

of  receipts  for  licenses  to  sell  intoxicating  liquors  seems  a  clear  case  of  taking  "tainted 
money."  Perhaps  a  justification  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  schools  are  supposed 
to  repair  the  damage  done  by  the  saloon.  Is  it  not  rather  paying  the  schools  for  the 
privilege  of  destroying  some  of  their  best  products  ?  Does  not  the  giving  of  this  money 
to  the  schools  do  something  to  give  respectability  to  the  traffic  ?  The  old-time  lottery 
did  not  seem  such  a  very  bad  thing  when  its  proceeds  were  used  to  support  a  college. 

There  is  one  statement  of  cause  and  effect  which  I  am  not  able  to  prove.  We  are 
told  that  the  maximum  of  average  expenditure  for  schools  in  a  certain  state  is  the  cause 
of  the  maximum  of  average  earning  power  which,  it  is  said,  is  found  in  that  state.  If 
the  same  state  could  show  the  smallest  percentage  of  illiteracy  and  the  smallest  percentage 
of  pauperism,  and  a  few  other  things  of  that  kind,  the  argument  would  be  more  convincing. 
We  should  all  like  to  be  able  to  show  excellent  results  from  the  liberal  support  of  the 
schools,  but  it  is  altogether  possible  that  the  taxes  raised  for  education  may  be  so  unwisely 
spent  as  not  to  secure  the  best  results,  or  that  the  influx  of  poor  and  ignorant  immigrants 
may  make  the  heaviest  tax  insufficient.  It  is  possible  that  in  the  state  showing  the  highest 
average  of  earnings  per  capita,  an  immense  population  may  be  underpaid,  and  a  small 
aristocracy,  for  which  the  schools  cannot  claim  all  the  credit,  may  be  greatly  overpaid. 
I  do  not  say  that  schools  do  not  increase  efficiency,  but  I  suggest  that  the  highest  average 
income  may  not  be  in  the  state  whose  conditions  are  best,  and  yet  I  do  say  that  generous 
taxation  for  the  support  of  schools  will  pay  abundant  returns  under  such  management 
as  we  have  a  right  to  expect  the  schools  shall  have. 

NATHAN  C.  SCHAEFFER,  of  Pennsylvania. — It  is  practically  impossible  to  find  a 
community  in  the  United  States  that  does  not  spend  more  money  for  whisky  and  tobacco 
than  for  education.  Careful  study  of  the  problem  of  taxation  for  school  purposes  should 
be  carried  on  in  colleges  and  universities. 

FRANK  A.  FITZPATRICK,  of  Boston,  in  closing  the  discussion,  stated  that  the  committee 
had  been  very  careful  not  to  draw  any  definite  conclusions  from  the  statistics  presented. 
He  warned  the  members  of  the  Council  against  making  any  hasty  generalizations,  or 
invidious  comparisons  relative  to  the  management  of  the  schools  of  different  cities,  based 
upon  the  expense  ratio  as  disclosed  by  the  figures  submitted  in  the  report.  The  investiga- 
tions of  the  committee,  however,  had  led  them  to  see  that  prior  to  the  war  period,  1861—65, 
a  much  larger  proportion  of  municipal  expenditure,  for  running  expenses,  was  allotted 
to  schools,  than  in  the  period  since  1861—65;  again,  that  in  this  earlier  period  a  much 
larger  proportion  of  the  cost  of  the  schools  was  expended  for  teachers'  salaries,  and  the 
items  grouped  under  head  of  instruction,  than  has  been  expended  for  purposes  of  instruc- 
tion in  the  period  since  the  war.  This  seems  to  indicate  that  the  charges  so  freely  made, 
that  the  schools  are  extravagantly  managed,  cannot  be  maintained.  On  the  contrary, 
the  growing  demands  of  other  departments  of  the  city  government  seem  to  be  continually 
encroaching  upon  the  resources  of  the  school. 

It  is  the  hope  of  the  committee  that  the  different  states,  thru  their  state  teachers' 
associations,  may  be  able  to  take  up  this  discussion  after  study  of  the  question  locally,  and 
thereby  make  a  basis  that  will  be  available  for  future  comparison. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


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JUL  5      1962 
'JAN  2      19B4 


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RETURNED  TO 

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Makers 
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PAT.  JAN.  21,  1908 


LB 

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